Capella de la Torre: Renaissance Music, Here and Now

Making Renaissance music sound like the music of today: that has been Capella de la Torre’s mission for 20 years. Led by Katharina Bäuml, the German ensemble has developed a wide range of thematic programmes, from Dürer’s melancholy to the female figures of “Power Female Art.” Next up: three concerts centred on Monteverdi’s “Vespers of the Blessed Virgin”, on September 16, 19, and 20 in Nuremberg, Lübeck, and Berlin.

By Ines Pasz

14 September 2026

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Capella de la Torre in "Melancholia_UNCOVERED", a project inspired by Albrecht Dürer’s "Melencolia I", in which Renaissance music and video art explore melancholy and depression together. © David Nuglisch

Since its founding in Berlin in 2005 by Katharina Bäuml, the Capella de la Torre ensemble’s identity has been defined first and foremost by its instrumentation: shawms, cornets, sackbuts, dulcians, lutes, organ, and percussion bring to life this vibrant soundscape that, from the Renaissance of the 15th to the 17th century, resonated in churches as well as in the squares, balconies, and towers of European cities. Over more than twenty years of activity and with a particularly extensive discography, the ensemble has explored composers such as Praetorius, Schütz, Monteverdi, and Cavalli, as well as the many connections between instrumental and vocal music. A multiple recipient of the German ECHO Klassik and OPUS Klassik awards—notably for Serata Venexiana and Monteverdi Memories—Capella de la Torre combines source research, interpretive freedom, and a commitment to engaging today’s audience with formats that readily embrace theatre, jazz, contemporary composition, and new concert formats.

“In early music, there are no ready-made concert series. That may be a drawback, of course, but, on the other hand, it gives us the freedom to create our own,” explains Katharina Bäuml, founder of Capella de la Torre. “It really does start with a story or a theme. Then I think about which repertoire would fit, and, finally, how to bring everything together.” The themes themselves are fascinating, exploring historical figures, cultural contexts, or different facets of life. They include programmes such as “Melancholia,” featuring music from the time of Albrecht Dürer, “The Four Elements,” which delves into Renaissance philosophy, and “A Musical Banquet,” a multimedia project combining music with a multisensory experience that includes wine tasting.

“As much research as possible, as much freedom as possible— I don’t want to create a museum piece; I want to speak to audiences today,” says Katharina Bäuml. For 20 years now, she has enjoyed considerable success with her ensemble, recognized in Germany in particular by numerous awards: the ECHO Klassik for “Best German Ensemble” in 2016, and OPUS Klassik awards in 2017 and 2018 for two CDs. That success is also reflected in festival appearances and tours throughout Europe. And all this with music from a truly distant era, played on instruments that are generally thought to squeak and buzz, with painfully unstable intonation.

“Power Female Art”: Early Music Meets Female Energy

A programmatic concept also underpins Capella de la Torre’s new “Power Female Art” series, devoted to remarkable women of the Renaissance. They are rulers, mothers, muses, or patrons, but they are often artists themselves, albeit generally working under far more difficult conditions than their male contemporaries. “I wanted to explore this female perspective a little more deeply,” explains Katharina Bäuml, “to highlight the substance and excellence of these female protagonists. This means looking at historical figures such as Elizabeth I, but also at works dedicated to women. And then the question arises: to what extent did this also encourage a new way of thinking?”