B’Rock Orchestra was set up in Ghent in 2005 on the basis of an urge for renewal and rejuvenation in the world of Early Music. The selected international musicians specialize in historically well-founded performance practices. They distinguish themselves by their open mind and flexibility of repertoire and playing style.
In the choices it makes for its concert programmes, B’Rock combines established works of baroque composition with the lesser-known repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition, the orchestra pursues a bold and innovative programme policy, in which early and contemporary music meet and enrich each other. It focuses especially on giving first performances of new music written with its historic instruments in mind. Yet, the orchestra has a reputation for cross-genre productions, too. Finally, early music in combination with theatre, visual art and/or video are also a part of the orchestra’s DNA.
B’Rock Orchestra regularly engages prominent guest conductors and soloists such as René Jacobs, Jérémie Rhorer, Leonardo García Alarcón, Peter Dijkstra, Bejun Mehta, Alexander Melnikov, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Dmitry Sinkovsky, Sophie Karthäuser and many others. It frequently collaborates with leading choral ensembles such as RIAS Kammerchor, Collegium Vocale Ghent, the Nederlands Kamerkoor and Cappella Amsterdam ND has developed structural partnerships in the fields of opera and musical theatre with De Munt/La Monnaie and Muziektheater Transparant.
VIDEO
PRESS
„It is sensational how well the “Ur-Carmen” does when the orchestral sound is skilfully purified.”
Hamburger Abendblatt, 26 March 2024
„But, under Mr. Jacobs’s baton, B’Rock still sounded like a small chamber orchestra: nimble, clear, precise. And restrained, reserving its most powerful sound for dramatic effect, which added a sense of theater to a piece…”
New York Times, January 2019
„It’s a very special experience, from which the world can learn a great deal.“
Bachtrack, March 2017
SELECTION OF PROJECTS (2025/26)
15 October – 3 November 2025
VENUS
with Jeanine de Bique, soprano
The programme with soprano Jeanine de Bique is dedicated to Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, planet of our solar system and astrological constellation, with French, Italian and English compositions from the period between around 1650 and 1750.
Various works from the 17th and 18th centuries
Dates upon request
DON’T LOOK BACK! – Re: Orpheus
with Benjamin Appl, baritone // Cecilia Bernardini, artistic leader & violin
The myth of Orfeo, Orpheus, Orphée – an inexhaustible source of inspiration for countless composers and for one of the most exciting singers of our time, Benjamin Appl. Together with the B’Rock Orchestra, he embarks on a journey that follows the musical traces of Orphée from the Renaissance to the present day.
With words by C. Monteverdi, W. Byrd, A. Draghi, C. H. Graun, G. P. Telemann, V. Williams, H. W. Henze und S. Gubaidulina a.o.
DOWNLOADS
PAST CONCERTS – A SELECTION
05 September 2024, Musikfest Bremen
B’Rock Orchestra / René Jacobs, conductor / Brigitte Christensen, soprano / Sophie Harmsen, mezzo-soprano / Thomas Walker, tenor / Johannes Weisseer, bass / Zürchester Singakademie / Sebastian Breuing, choir master
L. v. Beethoven: Missa solemnis in D major op. 123
“A great evening!”
Kreiszeitung, 6 September 2024
12 March 2024, De Singel, Antwerpen / 14 March 2024, Philharmonie de Paris / 16 March 2024, Konzerthaus Dortmund / 17 March 2024, Kölner Philharmonie / 25 March 2024, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg / 27 March 2024, Teatro Real, Madrid
Christiane Gaëlle Arquez, Carmen / Sabine Devieilhe, Micaëla / François Rougier, Don José / Thomas Dolié, Escamillo / Chœur de Chambre de Namur / Kinderchor Opera Ballet Vlaanderen / B’ROCK Orchestra / René Jacobs, conductor
CAMEN!
G. Bizet: Carmen. Opera in four acts / Version 1874, édition Paul Prévost
“It is sensational how well the ‘Ur-Carmen’ does when the orchestral sound is skilfully purified”
Hamburger Abendblatt, 26 March 2024
25 + 26 February 2023
B’Rock Orchestra, René Jacobs, Christiane Karg
VENGA LA MORTE!
C. M. von Weber: Overture to the opera „Der Freischütz”
W. A. Mozart: Cocert arias K.272, K.369 & K.490
Franz Schubert: Symphony no. 9 in C major D 944 „The Great”
“The orchestral sound is impressively transparent, you can hear every single voice, everything seems slender, supple, never fatted by vibrato.”
Die Rheinpfalz, 27 January 2023
