astrophil & stella
“A gem from a past age - subtly chiselled and full of emotion ... impressively celebrated with breathtaking virtuosity!”
The Ensemble
astrophil & stella performs and explores the musical and emotional worlds of expression of the 16th and early 17th centuries in unique vocal and instrumental programmes. It combines sensitive interpretations, playful virtuosity, research into repertoire and performance practice, musical dramaturgical ideas and a love of experimentation to create innovative concert formats. The ensemble often combines Renaissance and early Baroque music with new compositions, interactive and multimedia elements.
Founded and directed by flautist Johanna Bartz 2016 in Basel, astrophil & stella performs throughout Europe. On the occasion of the Luther Year 2017, the ensemble was honoured as the ‘Rheinsberger Hofkapelle’ and gave concerts 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 of the Ecos Festival Sierra Espuña (ES). 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 2025/26:
Charlotte Nachtsheim, Soprano
Giovanna Baviera, Viola da Gamba & Mezzo Soprano
Cyril Escoffier, Tenor
Anna Danilevskaia, Viola da Gamba
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. 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