Of equal importance to the ensemble are the study of the original sources and expressive music-making. It has placed its chief focus on the complete works of its patron Orlando di Lasso, an oeuvre of unsurpassed stylistic variety and intellectual profundity without equal in its time, which was the threshold of the thoroughbass era and the beginnings of the opera.

For some time now, the ensemble has been focusing intently on the Italian madrigals of composers such as Gesualdo, Monteverdi and other representatives of this period of stylistic transformation. In this context, one should single out the Berlin production of Orazio Vecchi's madrigal comedy "L'Amfiparnasso" in cooperation with the Berliner Kammeroper, which drew raves from public and media alike, and the CD release of Italian madrigals by Heinrich Schütz. The ensemble has increasingly made it its goal to edit and perform previously unknown music from the original sources, such as it did recently with the works of Melchior Franck and Venetian composers from the circle of Claudio Monteverdi. The Orlando di Lasso ensemble has also been working closely with the Freiburg Barock Consort for several years now.

The Orlando di Lasso Ensemble was founded in Hanover in 1981. Today its singers come from all over the country. They work as soloists with renowned conductors of early music such as Philippe Herreweghe, Frieder Bernius, Hermann Max, Thomas Hengelbrock and others. The ensemble concertizes throughout Germany and in other European countries. It also appears regularly at international festivals of early music (Stuttgart, Freiburg, Kempen, Bamberg, Rheingau Musikfestival, Berne, Basel, Sardinia¼) and records at radio stations in Germany and abroad.

The ensemble won international plaudits for its CD releases. The recording of Lasso's "Viersprachendruck" (1573) was awarded the French record prize Diapason d'Or. For the CD "Paradisus Musicus" with works by Melchior Franck, the CD "Il Primo Libro de Madrigali" with the Italian madrigals of Heinrich Schütz, the Barbara Strozzi CD "Il Primo de' Madrigali" and the Chiara Margharita Cozzolani CD: "Marienvesper" the ensemble won the German record award Echo Klassik in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003 the Diapason d'Or de l'Année 1999 as well as the Cannes Classical Award 2000.

DISCOGRAPHY:
Orlando di Lasso Viersprachendruck (1573)
Motetten, Madrigale, Chansons, Lieder (Erste Gesamteinspielung)
Orlando di Lasso Ensemble, Bläser-Collegium Leipzig, La Gamba Freiburg
Leitung: Detlef Bratschke
Thorofon CTH 2209
[Diapason d’Or]

Il Trionfo dell’ Amore
Orlando di Lasso: Madrigale nach Francesco Petrarca
Orlando di Lasso Ensemble
Thorofon CTH 2282

Paradisus Musicus, Melchior Franck
Motetten, Geistliche Konzerte, deutsche Lieder
Orlando di Lasso Ensemble, Leitung: Detlef Bratschke
Thorofon CTH 2343
[Echo Klassik 1998: "Vokalensemble des Jahres"]

opus 1 in Venice Vol. 1 Heinrich Schütz
Il Primo Libro de Madrigali (1611) (Gesamteinspielung)
Orlando di Lasso Ensemble
Thorofon CTH 2387
[Echo Klassik 1999: Alte Musik vokal. Diapason d’Or de l’année 1999: Musique Baroque Vocale. Cannes Classical Award 2000]

opus 1 in Venice Vol. 2 Barbara Strozzi
Il Primo de’ Madrigali (1644) (Erste Gesamteinspielung)
Orlando di Lasso Ensemble
Leitung: Detlef Bratschke
[Echo Klassik 2001]

Chiara Margarita Cozzolani
Marienvesper (1642/50)
Orlando di Lasso Ensemble
Leitung: Detlef Bratschke
Thorofon CTH 2461/2
[Echo Klassik 2003]