astrophil & stella
“A gem from a past age - subtly chiselled and full of emotion ... impressively celebrated with breathtaking virtuosity!”
The Ensemble
The ensemble astrophil & stella performs Renaissance music in a variety of vocal and instrumental formations, placing the works of this period within broader dramaturgical contexts.
In this way, the storytelling power of music transports the audience into the emotional worlds of the 16th and early 17th centuries.
Through sensitive interpretations, playful virtuosity, impressive concert programming and in-depth research into repertoire and performance practice, the ensemble also enjoys combining Renaissance and early Baroque music with new compositions, interactive and multimedia elements. Led by flautist Johanna Bartz, astrophil & stella brings together outstanding performers whose artistic individuality is creatively integrated into the ensemble’s poetic language and their collaborative programme development.
Shortly after its formation in 2016, it was honoured with the title ‘Rheinsberger Hofkapelle’ to mark the Luther Year in 2017 and performed as ensemble-in-residence at the local music academy and castle. In 2020, astrophil & stella was selected for the ECOS Lab for innovative concert formats at the Ecos Festival in Sierra Espuña (ES). It has performed at festivals and concert series including the Festwochen Alter Musik Innsbruck, Tage Alter und Neuer Musik Salzburg (AT), Musikinstrumentenmuseum and Friedenauer Kammerkonzerte Berlin, Wittenberger Renaissancemusikfestival, Musica Ahuse, Münchener Residenzwoche, montalbâne festival (D), Musica Cordis Egerkingen, Klangreich Romanshorn (CH) or Les Rencontres Musicales de la Vallée d’Alzette (LUX). In 2025 the ensemble’s first album ‘a garden of black flowers’ was released on the label Albus Fair Editions and received enthusiastically by the international press.
The ensemble name means ‘star friend and star’ and comes from the sonnet collection of the same name by the English poet Sir Philip Sidney from 1591.
“An extraordinary musical experience!”
musicians
… of the season 2026/27:
Charlotte Nachtsheim, Soprano
Giovanna Baviera, Viola da Gamba & Mezzo Soprano
Cyril Escoffier, Tenor
Filipa Meneses, Viola da Gamba
Martin Jantzen, Viola da Gamba
Bruno Hurtado, Viola da Gamba
Claire Piganiol, Harp
Vincent Kibildis, Harp and Music Editions
Guilherme Barroso, Lute and Vihuela
Mira Lange, Virginal
Philipp Lamprecht, Historical Percussion, Straw Fiddle, Dulcimer
Matthias Leboucher, Composition
Johanna Bastian, Narrator, Music Education
Johanna Bartz, Renaissance Traverso and Direction
Artistic Direction
Photos: (c) Elza Loginova
Flutist Johanna Bartz founded astrophil & stella with the vision of bringing together a collective of musicians to perform music from the 16th and early 17th centuries in sensitive and innovative concert formats. Fascinated by the expressiveness of Renaissance music, she develops projects in which old and new compositions, music and texts, or musical performance, scenic elements and interactive installations flow into one another. This opens up new dimensions, surprising connections or unusual perspectives for compositions that were originally written for contexts very different from today’s concert formats. Each programme tells a new story and accompanies the audience into different worlds of sound.
In addition to her work as a flutist and director of astrophil & stella, Johanna is active in various musical eras and fields: She plays Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic and contemporary repertoire in ensembles such as the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Le Concert des Nations, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Anima Eterna, Gli Incogniti, Sollazzo, Continuum and others, and teaches as a professor of historical flutes at the Haute école de musique Genève and as a lecturer for Renaissance traverso at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. www.johannabartz.com