About

The ensemble

"They surprise with a kind of baroque rubato, combined with freedom of tempi [...]. Thus, the music breathes, as a living organism, that passionately -but peacefully- prevails.”

Praised for their lilting, expressive sound and harmonious interplay, the Dutch ensemble Castello Consort explores music from the renaissance and early baroque periods. The core of the ensemble is formed by Elise Dupont (violin), Matthijs van der Moolen (sackbut) and Anne-Linde Visser (bass violin, cello and viola da gamba). They are joined by guest musicians for each programme.

In their search for new timbres the Castello Consort initiated the building of a unique pipe organ, combining a historically accurate reproduction of a 1600’s Italian church organ with the transportability that is necessary for today’s performance practice. The many registers and extended mean tone tuning offer a whole new range of expressions. In July 2020 the Reil organ was premiered during a live radio broadcast on Dutch Radio 4.

For their debut-CD ‘Fantastissimus’, the ensemble collaborated with contemporary composer Martijn Padding. He composed a collection of pieces inspired by his seventeenth century colleagues: sometimes conceptual, sometimes theatrical, sometimes very close to improvisation, but always bold and unconventional. Interspersed with baroque works, Padding’s “Stylus Phantasticus” connects old with new music.

The ensemble has performed at the foremost international festivals, including the Utrecht Early Music Festival (NL), the Internationale Händel-Festspiele in Göttingen (DE), the Beverley Early Music Festival (UK), the Festival d'Ambronay (FR), the Festival Barocco è il Mondo (IT), the BRQ Festival (fringe) in Vantaa (FI) and the Kongsberg International Organ Summer (NO). Furthermore, the Castello Consort featured in prominent concert series in the Netherlands.  In 2017 the ensemble was selected for the prestigious Eeemerging scheme, a programme supporting a small selection of the most promising young, European Early Music ensembles within the framework of Creative Europe. As part of this scheme, the ensemble was invited for residencies at the NCEM in York (UK) and Ghislieri Musica in Pavia (IT).

The Castello Consort in Het Rembrandthuis Amsterdam. Photo by Foppe Schut.

Core musicians

Portrait of Matthijs van der Moolen, sackbut or baroque trombone player of the Castello Consort. Photo by Foppe Schut.

Matthijs van der Moolen

Matthijs loves playing chamber music, both early and contemporary. He finished his studies of baroque trombone with Charles Toet at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague (cum laude), and specialised into renaissance music on trombone and slide trumpet even further with Catherine Motuz at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Matthijs played with the ensembles Música Temprana, Holland Baroque, La Fonte Musica, Ghislieri Consort, Capriccio Stravagante, and many others.

In the ensemble, Matthijs usually plays his favourite instrument: an exact copy of the only surviving Italian trombone from the renaissance (anonymous, ca. 1560), currently in the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona (made possible with the help of Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument). This instrument was built for him in 2020 by Aron Vajna in Basel.


Anne-Linde Visser

Anne-Linde is an active performer on the bass violin, baroque cello, piccolo cello and the viola da gamba. She earned her masterdiploma (cum laude) in baroque cello from the Royal Conservatory The Hague, studying with Lucia Swarts. Because of her passion for the viola da gamba and its rich repertoire, she continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Jonathan Manson, where she completed the Professional Diploma course with distinction.

A dedicated chamber musician and basso continuo player, Anne-Linde’s continuo has been praised as ‘excellent’ (Early Music Reviews) and ‘impressive: unobtrusive yet decisive’ (Opera Today). She has performed with ensembles such as the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Theresia Youth Baroque Orchestra (IT), Musica Amphion, ensemble Cordevento and Musica Gloria (BE).

Anne-Linde plays on two eighteenth-century instruments: an English baroque cello (made possible with the help of Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument) and a Saxon piccolo-cello.

Portrait of Anne-Linde Visser, bass violin and viola da gamba player of the Castello Consort. Photo by Foppe Schut.

Portrait of Elise Dupont, violin player of the Castello Consort. Photo by Foppe Schut.

Elise Dupont

Elise's first encounter with Historical Informed Performance practice was an ear-opening experience for her and from that moment she was sure about pursuing a career as a baroque violinist. Elise performed with internationally renowned early music ensembles such as the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, a nocte temporis, il Gardellino, BachPlus (BE), Collegium Marianum (CZ) and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century.

Recent highlights have been leading her ensemble Le Concert d’Apollon in the 2021 online edition of the Early Music Festival in Utrecht and her solo performance in Wigmore Hall during the Royal Academy of Music’s Bicentenary Prize.

Since 2017, Elise plays on a violin on loan from the Dutch Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds. The instrument was built in 1691 in Amsterdam by Willem van der Sijde, and once belonged to the Dutch princess Juliana.

Guest musicians 2023

Violin & viola

Sakura Goto
Ivan Iliev
Jacek Kurzydło
Lena Rademann
Hilla Heller

Basse de violon

Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde

Viola da gamba

Anna Lachegyi

Violone

Chun-Yuan Yang
Maggie Urquhart

Harp

Emma Huijsser

Theorbo, lute & guitar

Giulio Quirici
Asako Ueda

Organ

Menno van Delft
Josef Laming

Percussion

Lola Mlačnik

Dulcian

Benny Aghassi
Luís Tasso Athayde Santos
Inga Maria Klaucke

Shawm & pommer

Ann Allen
Teresa Ortner

Cornetto

Benedetta Ceron
Cathérine Dörücü

Trombone

Joost Swinkels

The Castello Consort in Rembrandt's Atelier in Het Rembrandthuis Amsterdam. Photo by Foppe Schut.