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Sonus

Agency for Early Music


Bild_Ensemble VillancicoEnsemble Villancico was formed in 1995, with the renaissance music collection "Cancionero de Upsala 1556" as its principal repertoire. This collection formed the basis of the ensemble’s mission in its first few years: performing and spreading early music with links to the Nordic region.

From the year 2000 the ensemble’s focus turned to Latin American baroque, a genre still growing as more and more manuscripts are being rediscovered in the archives of churches and monasteries in Central America and the northwest region of South America. The combination of early world music full of Latin temperament and a musical clarity based on the Nordic traditions of its members, has earned the ensemble global reputation.

Bild_Villancico Tanz The ensemble has made more than 250 performances in 25 countries, made six CD recordings, and their performances have appeared on television and radio across the world. Among the many music festival appearances in Europe and Latin America, the opening concert at the genre-leading festival Misiones de Chiquitos in Bolivia is noteworthy.

Peter Pontvik, born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1963. Has studied composition, musicology, singing and choir conducting in Sweden, Uruguay and Germany. Has written chamber music as well as works for choir and orchestra, and done research in the early music field.

In 1995 he formed Ensemble Villancico. Pontvik founded the Stockholm Early Music Festival in 2002 and has been its artistic director since then. He is chairman of the Nordic organisation NORDEM and, since 2011, President of the European network REMA. He has received the award "Promoter of the Year 2004" from Swedish Music Festivals and the "Swedish Early Music Award 2010".


Sound samples

Hortuño: Vamos todos a ver (live)


Anonymus: Una tonadilla nueva (live)


Gregor Aichinger: Duo Seraphim (live)


Anon. (Guatemala um 1600): Victoria, victoria


Anon. (Sucre, Bolivien 18. Jh): Ymaynalla canqui tayta


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