Rien Voskuilen
studied the harpsichord with Anneke Uittenbosch in Amsterdam. He also graduated in Utrecht as a musicologist, specializing in baroque music. In 1989 he founded the ensemble La Fantasia, which concentrates on European chamber music of the 17th and 18th centuries. He recorded Les six Symphonies de Noël by Michel Corrette. Under the direction of Rien Voskuilen, L’arpa festante recorded the Pythagorische Schmids-Füncklein of Rupert Ignaz Mayr and he recorded a highly acclaimed CD with harpsichord concertos by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach for the Carus label. Later this was followed by recordings of works by David Pohle, the pupil of Heinrich Schütz, as well as by George Frideric Handel and Johann Philipp Förtsch. As a harpsichordist and organist Rien Voskuilen is in great demand as a continuo player. He has performed with such conductors as Frans Brüggen, Ton Koopman, Sigiswald Kuijken, Christopher Hogwood, Nicholas McGegan, Robert King and Charles Farncombe. Moreover, he is also active as a soloist and in this capacity performs with various chamber music ensembles, and has taken part in many broadcasts and CD recordings, for example with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Niederländisches Kammerorchester, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Freiburger Barockorchester, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and at the Karlsruher Händelfestspiele. Concert tours have taken him to most European countries, the USA, Canada and Asia.

L’arpa festante
The baroque orchestra L’arpa festante takes its name from Giovanni Battista Maccioni’s dramatic work performed at the opening of the Munich opera house in 1653. Its name has come to stand for the group’s artistic work and musical commitment. Founded in 1983, L’arpa festante is one of the longest-established German Early music ensembles. It has achieved an enviable reputation not only for its distinctive sound in performances of instrumental works, but as a partner to leading choirs in works from the whole range of Baroque, Classical and Romantic choral-orchestral literature. The group uses original instruments appropriate to the works it performs, enabling it to faithfully recreate the authentic sounds and colors of these works. The individual players’ extensive musical experience, and the virtuosity of their playing combine to produce the ensemble’s unmistakeable sound: colorful, richly nuanced, sensitive, and expressive. The dramatic moment is spiritedly portrayed through the diverse sounds of historical instruments. The group specializes in the rediscovery and performance of unknown works from the 17th century as well as the Classical era. It increasingly performs oratorios and works from the Romantic symphonic repertoire. The size of the orchestra ranges from solo concertino scoring to full orchestral strength of around 50 musicians, according to the musical requirements of the works performed. Numerous CD recordings, enthusiastically received by critics and public alike, have brought L’arpa festante wide public attention. Their discography comprises around 30 recordings on leading labels and ranges from works of the High Baroque (Rupert Ignaz Mayr, David Pohle, Johann Philipp Förtsch, Dieterich Buxtehude) via the Late Baroque period (Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, Jan Dismas Zelenka) to works of the Classic (Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Heinrich Graun, Christian Ernst Graf, Giovanni Battista Martini, Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) and Romantic eras (Anton Bruckner, Camille Saint-Saëns, Hector Berlioz, Bernhard Molique).