About Ensemble

Cappella Mariana is a vocal ensemble specializing in medieval and Renaissance polyphony and the vocal repertoire of Early Baroque. The performances of Capella Mariana have met with enthusiastic reception from the public and critics alike, the latter highlighting the ensemble’s expressive performance based on close attention paid to the text. Cappella Mariana was founded in 2008 as one of the few local ensembles focussing on the interpretation of high vocal polyphony, especially from Italian, Flemish, and English Renaissance.

The ensemble works under the artistic direction of Vojtěch Semerád. The members of the ensemble are internationally renowned vocal artists who also specialize in the interpretation of Baroque and pre-Romantic music. It regularly performs at music festivals and on prestigious stages both in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Europe, including Oude Muziek Utrecht, MAfestival Brugge, Musikfest Bremen, Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alte Musik, Laus polyphoniae Antwerpen, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Prague Spring, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam a.o.

In 2021, the ensemble, together with the Constantinople ensemble and Sasha Rashilov, debuted at the Prague Spring Festival with a unique programme "Kryštof Harant or Wandering to the Holy Land". The project has received more than a dozen performances throughout Europe, including an overseas tour to Canada, and its recording on the Supraphon label won the 2024 Anděl Award in the Classical category.

Cappella Mariana became the Alamire Foundation's ensemble in residence in 2021. The artist residency included hands-on research in the Library of Voices, an innovative sound lab. The research focused on the relationship between musical source, performance and the historical spaces in which polyphonic music was originally heard.

The ensemble's discography for the Supraphon and Etcetera labels includes recordings with a revelatory dramaturgy of unknown authors or compositions. The title "Johannes Tourout - Portrait of an Imperial Kapellmeister" is the first recording in the new Alamire Foundation Editions series, which presents music by forgotten works by Franco-Flemish composers from the Central European region. A recording of Jean Richafort's rediscovered compositions on the Musique en Wallonie label earned the ensemble a Diapason d'Or award in 2025.