Jakob Bloch Jespersen

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Jakob Bloch Jespersen acquired already as a boy his fundamental musical education, as well as his interest in singing, from his membership of the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir. This led to studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, from which he attained his diploma in 2004, and subsequently to further studies at the Opera Academy of the Royal Danish Theatre, from which he graduated in 2007. Furthermore, he has studied privately with Hervé Niquet in Paris.

In 2006, Jakob Bloch Jespersen made his debut at the Royal Danish Theatre as Angelotti in Puccini's TOSCA and participated in the DVD and TV recordings of Carl Nielsen's Maskarade as Magister Collatinus in Britten's Rape of Lucretia at the intimate stage Takkelloftet, Basilio in Rossini's The Barber in Seville at The New Opera (in Esbjerg, Jutland) as well as roles in numerous contemporary opera productions.

In spite of his young age, Jakob Bloch Jespersen has made his mark as a vocalist, both at home and abroad, with a repertoire stretching from baroque music to first performances of contemporary composers. This has lead him to a number of the leading concert halls of the world, such as Palais des Beaux Arts - Brussels, The Carnegie Hall - New York and Sala Sao Paulo - Brazil and to international festivals for early and contemporary music, among others Ambronay Festival - France, Berliner Festspiele and Stimmen Festival - Germany, and Sacrum Profanum - Krakow, Poland.

In the early repertoire, Jakob Bloch Jespersen has worked with Concerto Copenhagen, Arte Dei Suonatori, and Ars Nova Copenhagen on several occasions under the direction, among others, of Paul Hillier and Lars Ulrik Mortensen. In the contemporary repertoire, he has worked, among others in cooperation with ensembles such as The Theatre of Voices, I Solisti del Vento, Figura Ensemble and the Athelas Sinfonietta in works by Cage, Berio, Crumb, Pärt, Stockhausen, David Lang, and Liu Sola.

Moreover, Jakob Bloch Jespersen has appeared in a long list of the larger oratorio works with several of the Danish regional orchestras, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Leipziger Kammerorchester, The Danish National Chamber Orchestra, and The Copenhagen Phil with conductors such as Adam Fischer, Michael Schønwandt, Jim Wang, Thomas Søndergaard, Morten Schuldt Jensen, Tobias Ringborg and Giordano Bellincampi.

Jakob Bloch Jespersen features on several CD recordings: among others Bach-cantatas with Conterto Copenhagen and Anne Sofie von Otter for Deutsche Gramophone, David Lang Little Match Girl Passion and Berio A-Ronne with The Theatre of Voices for Harmonia Mundi, Kurt Weill Von Tod im Wald and Berliner Requiem with The Flemish Radio Choir and I Solisti del Vento for Glossa and Schütz The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ and Lukas and Matthäus Passions with Ars Nova and Concerto Copenhagen for DaCapo.

In addition, Jakob Bloch Jespersen has a particular interest in doing recitals, and he regularly performs several of the major works of the lieder-genre, such as Schumann's Liederkreis, op.39 and Schubert's Winterreise.

www.jakobbloch.com

Website

www.jakobbloch.com

Live Dates

03/05/2013   Trailer and documentary: Fête Galante
View the documentary about the concert performance and CD recording of Poul Schierbeck's opera "Fête Galante" online
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22/02/2013   Musikanmelderringens Kunstnerpriser 2013
Basbarytonen Jakob Bloch Jespersen og Nightinggale String Quartet modtager Musikanmelderringens Kunstnerpriser 2013.
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12/04/2011   A 'hair-shirt Easter treat'...
Discover why International Record Review descibes this release as "truly excellent performances" and a "hair-shirt Easter treat"
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01/04/2011   Hillier's Schütz in Choir & Organ
'You don't really know music until you've performed it in front of an audience', states the chief conductor of Ars Nova Copenhagen
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29/03/2011   Paul Hillier's diary in GRAMOPHONE
As his Schütz series on Dacapo draws to a close, the chief conductor of Ars Nova Copenhagen reveals the importance of story-telling in choral music
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12/10/2012 MusicWeb International

Heinrich Schütz: Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion
"Deeply moving performances of some intriguing works."
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05/04/2012 Audiophile Audition

Heinrich Schütz: Matthäus-Passion
4/5 Stars

"Hillier and his Copenhagen players are born to this music."
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09/06/2011 Klassik.com

Heinrich Schütz: Matthäus-Passion
4/4 Stars

"Im besten Sinne lässt der erfahrene Engländer erzählen - dramatisch, plastisch, lyrisch, entlang des fesselnden Passionsgeschehens."
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01/06/2011 BBC Music Magazine

Heinrich Schütz: Matthäus-Passion
4/5 Stars

"Well recorded, in warm acoustic, this is a worthy completion of Hillier's collection of all six of Schütz's narrative works."
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01/06/2011 Gramophone

Heinrich Schütz: Matthäus-Passion
"Individual step-outs ensure that chanting is dramatically engaged and the consort singing is flawless."
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01/05/2011 Klassisk

Heinrich Schütz: Matthäus-Passion
4/6 Stars

"En udgivelse af internationalt format"
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27/04/2011 Kristeligt Dagblad

Heinrich Schütz: Matthäus-Passion
4/6 Stars

"Som et korrektiv til alle de overfladiske ting, der dominerer i samtiden, er det fremragende."
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12/04/2011 International Record Review

Heinrich Schütz: Matthäus-Passion
"For the first time we have access to truly excellent performances of all three Passions"
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01/04/2011 David's Review Corner

Heinrich Schütz: Matthäus-Passion
"Excellently performed and immaculately recorded, it will be an important release to those interested in this era."
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01/04/2011 MusicWeb International

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
"A compelling programme of wonderful vocal music by Buxtehude"
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11/03/2011 Nomono

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
"En skrap konkurrent til Bachs juleoratorium og påskekantater."
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25/02/2011 Fanfare

Heinrich Schütz: Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion
"Hillier, soloist Adam Riis, and the vocalists and players from the Ars Nova Copenhagen Schütz project are simply perfect."
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22/02/2011 Klassisk

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
6/6 Stars

"En fenomenal utgivelse, fullstappet av gleder du ikke bør nekte deg."
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28/01/2011 Musikansich.de

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
"Alle sechs Sänger spüren sensibel der Delikatesse dieser Musik nach."
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28/01/2011 Fanfare

Heinrich Schütz: Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion
"Singing and instrumental playing of great refinement and expressive intensity ... highly recommended."
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02/01/2011 Klassik.com

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
"Sensibel und mit eminenter stilistischer Sicherheit."
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17/12/2010 Classics Today 10/10

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
"Extraordinary and delightfully surprising ... All of these singers are excellent."
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08/12/2010 Kristeligt Dagblad

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
4/6 Stars

"En fin udgivelse."
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02/12/2010 Berlingske Tidende

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
5/6 Stars

"Enhver elsker af barokmusik vil sidde som klistret til højtalerne."
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01/12/2010 International Record Review

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
"The disc celebrates great musicality."
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01/11/2010 Klassisk

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
5/6 Stars

"Buxtehudes vokalværker klinger lyslevende og vedkommende."
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24/10/2010 The Observer

Dietrich Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas
"Of the very highest quality ... Highly recommended."
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29/09/2010 Berlingske Tidende

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
5/5 Stars

"Musikken skal lyde nøjagtig sådan. Med hverken for lidt drama eller for meget. Hvor smagfuldt."
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29/09/2010 Gramophone

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
"Schütz recordings of such ardent beauty are much too rare, so this is not to be missed."
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29/09/2010 Opera News

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
"Paul Hillier, as always, puts cogent storytelling on equal terms with musical values, eliciting dignified, sensitive and celebratory readings from Ars Nova Copenhagen."
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01/09/2010 MusicWeb International

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
"Overall this is a disc which gives immense satisfaction and which is a great credit to Paul Hillier as director of both works"
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01/08/2010 Fono Forum

Heinrich Schütz: Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion
4/5 Stars

"Belegt die Bandbreite der Schütz'schen Klangsprache sehr schön."
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23/06/2010 Klassik.com

Heinrich Schütz: Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion
"Technisch, intonatorisch und klanglich wird zweifellos ein hohes Niveau geboten. Auch die beteiligten Instrumente unterstreichen das. Sie formen in der 'Symphonia' eine sehr schöne Klangsphäre, begleiten die Jesus-Worte geschmackvoll, dezent und ausgewogen."
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01/05/2010 Musik & Kirche

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
4/5 Stars

"Sehr warmen, geschmeidigen und doch tranparenten Gesamtklang."
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18/04/2010 Dansk Musik Tidsskrift

Heinrich Schütz: Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion
"Det er flot at Dacapo kan udgive denne serie med et dansk ensemble, der kan skabe en så sublim oplevelse."
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07/04/2010 Kristeligt Dagblad

Heinrich Schütz: Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion
4 Stars

"Man kan ikke forestille sig noget mere ærligt og ægte...Ingen kan gøre det bedre end Ars Nova Copenhagen."
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24/03/2010 Politiken

Heinrich Schütz: Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion
5/6 Hjerter

"I det store og svimlende atmosfæriske kirkerum blander de ligefremme stemmer sig til et væv af dybt interessante linjer."
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09/03/2010 Aachener Zeitung

Heinrich Schütz: Weinachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
5 Stars

"Schütz schlägt aus jedem Wort musikalisch kostbare Funken."
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09/02/2010 The Daily Telegraph

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
"Vocally first-rate, this is a disc on which solemnity and vitality coalesce."
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09/02/2010 Musikeren

Heinrich Schütz: Weinachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
"En forrygende indspilning."
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02/02/2010 Diapason

Heinrich Schütz: Weinachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
5 Stars

"Superbement dramatique."
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01/02/2010 Klassisk

Heinrich Schütz: Weinachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
5 Stars

"De sanglige præstationer er smukke ... En indspilning, som lægger op til en fordybelse."
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01/02/2010 International Record Review

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
"This is an exceptionally well-recorded disc and Paul Hillier directs both works with obvious insight and affection"
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02/12/2009 Kristeligt Dagblad

Heinrich Schütz: Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie
"Årets bedste jule-cd. Det er sjældent at høre et værk hvile så meget i sig selv, og der er tale om udgivelse, der tjener de implicerede til ære."
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01/11/2009 Fanfare

Heinrich Schütz: Lukas-Passion
"Tenor Johan Linderoth is superb in the demanding role of the Evangelist"
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01/11/2009 BBC Music Magazine

Heinrich Schütz: Lukas-Passion
4 Stars

"ARS NOVA's intonation is superb, creating a rich tone in a reverberant Copenhagen Church."
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01/09/2009 Gramophone

Heinrich Schütz: Lukas-Passion
"Paul Hillier delivers a first-rate recording to launch a promising Schütz series"
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Discography

	Fête galante Poul Schierbeck SACD 6.220637-38 (2013)
	The Complete Narrative Works Heinrich Schütz CD 8.204035 (2011) Box collection of Paul Hillier and Ars Nova Copenhagen’s highly acclaimed recordings of all of Schütz’s passions and narrative oratorios from the late Renaissance.
	Matthäus-Passion Heinrich Schütz CD 8.226094 (2011) Paul Hillier and his Ars Nova Copenhagen conclude their series of early Baroque master Heinrich Schütz’ vocal treasury
	Scandinavian Cantatas Dietrich Buxtehude SACD 6.220534 (2010) Grammy-winning ensemble Theatre of Voices and Paul Hillier in Buxtehude's rare works of his vocal music
	Die Sieben Worte; Johannes-Passion Heinrich Schütz CD 8.226093 (2010) Another set of stunning Baroque works in the third volume of ARS NOVA's and Paul Hillier's now hailed Schütz series
	Weihnachtshistorie; Auferstehungshistorie Heinrich Schütz CD 8.226058 (2009) Two Masterly examples of the Early Vocal Baroque with Ars Nova Copenhagen and Paul Hillier
	Lukas-Passion Heinrich Schütz CD 8.226019 (2009) The intense rigour of Schütz’ music is in perfect hands with Paul Hillier
	Maskarade (DVD) Carl Nielsen DVD 2.110407 (2007) The Danish "national opera" in a rebellious, witty new interpretation