A Bit About Us
The next generation of historical performers, Primary Colours is a collection of low-voice instrumentalists. Incorporating the three principle voice types in instrumental music of the 17th and 18th centuries (wind, bowed string, plucked string), the ensemble exists to display the spectrum of expressive possibilities available to works both known and unknown today. In the spirit of Bruce Haynes’ The End of Early Music, Primary Colours performs both arrangements and works intended for its unique composition.
Primary Colours’ raison d’être is not an exclusive one. Despite the depth and variety of music available to us, we are also dedicated to developing as a continuo collective. Our drive to develop as an ensemble and our diversity of instrumentation makes us ideally suited for collaboration. Whatever the work, our makeup allows us to assemble in a variety of combinations to meet its full dramatic potential.
Als Teil einer neuen Generation der historischen Aufführungspraxis versteht sich Primary Colours als ein Ensemble von tief spielenden Instrumenten. Dabei stehen die drei Hauptmerkmale der Instrumentation des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts im Vordergrund, nämlich Blas-, Zupf und Streichinstrumente. Das Ensemble konzentriert sich dabei auf bekanntere sowie auch unbekannte Werke für diese Instrumentation, um diese in all ihren Facetten darzustellen.
Primary Colours spielt dabei nicht ausschließlich nur solistisch eine Rolle. Aufgrund der reichen Auswahl an Musik, die für unser Ensemble möglich ist, sind wir auch bestrebt uns als Continuo-Gruppe weiterzuentwickeln. Angespornt von der Idee das Ensemblespiel weiter auszubauen, gekoppelt mit der reichen Instrumentationsmöglichkeit, bieten wir uns perfekt als Mitspieler an. Welches Werk auch auf dem Programm steht, unser Setup ermöglicht uns verschiedene Instrumentationen um das volle Potential der Stücke zu erfüllen.
Issu de la nouvelle génération de musiciens spécialisés dans le répertoire baroque, Primary Colours se compose d’instruments dits “de basse”. L’ensemble réunit les trois modes de production du son de l’époque Baroque – vent, cordes frottées, cordes pincées – et se propose d’explorer les différentes combinaisons et possibilités expressives de ces “couleurs primaires” musicales, dans des répertoires connus et méconnus.
Cette formation remarquable ne se limite cependant pas à cette mission : nous nous destinons également à développer le potentiel de la basse continue. La configuration de Primary Colours est idéale pour enrichir une section de continuo et offrir une palette expressive variée.
A Bit About Us
The next generation of historical performers, Primary Colours is a collection of low-voice instrumentalists. Incorporating the three principle voice types in instrumental music of the 17th and 18th centuries (wind, bowed string, plucked string), the ensemble exists to display the spectrum of expressive possibilities available to works both known and unknown today. In the spirit of Bruce Haynes’ The End of Early Music, Primary Colours performs both arrangements and works intended for its unique composition.
Primary Colours’ raison d’être is not an exclusive one. Despite the depth and variety of music available to us, we are also dedicated to developing as a continuo collective. Our drive to develop as an ensemble and our diversity of instrumentation makes us ideally suited for collaboration. Whatever the work, our makeup allows us to assemble in a variety of combinations to meet its full dramatic potential.
Als Teil einer neuen Generation der historischen Aufführungspraxis versteht sich Primary Colours als ein Ensemble von tief spielenden Instrumenten. Dabei stehen die drei Hauptmerkmale der Instrumentation des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts im Vordergrund, nämlich Blas-, Zupf und Streichinstrumente. Das Ensemble konzentriert sich dabei auf bekanntere sowie auch unbekannte Werke für diese Instrumentation, um diese in all ihren Facetten darzustellen.
Primary Colours spielt dabei nicht ausschließlich nur solistisch eine Rolle. Aufgrund der reichen Auswahl an Musik, die für unser Ensemble möglich ist, sind wir auch bestrebt uns als Continuo-Gruppe weiterzuentwickeln. Angespornt von der Idee das Ensemblespiel weiter auszubauen, gekoppelt mit der reichen Instrumentationsmöglichkeit, bieten wir uns perfekt als Mitspieler an. Welches Werk auch auf dem Programm steht, unser Setup ermöglicht uns verschiedene Instrumentationen um das volle Potential der Stücke zu erfüllen.
Issu de la nouvelle génération de musiciens spécialisés dans le répertoire baroque, Primary Colours se compose d’instruments dits “de basse”. L’ensemble réunit les trois modes de production du son de l’époque Baroque – vent, cordes frottées, cordes pincées – et se propose d’explorer les différentes combinaisons et possibilités expressives de ces “couleurs primaires” musicales, dans des répertoires connus et méconnus.
Cette formation remarquable ne se limite cependant pas à cette mission : nous nous destinons également à développer le potentiel de la basse continue. La configuration de Primary Colours est idéale pour enrichir une section de continuo et offrir une palette expressive variée.
All photographs by Randall Cook
Meet The Team
Andrew Burn
An avid promoter and performer of early music, Andrew Burn has performed on the shores of three oceans.
Living in Basel, Switzerland, Andrew performs internationally. Recently, he has performed with Capricornus Consort (Basel), Les Voix Baroques (Canada), Bach Akademie Luzern, and is a regular member of Musica Fiorita (Basel). In 2013, Andrew was selected as sole bassoonist for the European Union Baroque Orchestra. Over two seasons, the orchestra performed over 50 concerts from London to Istanbul, Malta to Stockholm. Andrew has performed for radio in over 15 countries, and can be heard on the ATMA, Obsidian, Pan Classics, and ACCENT labels.
In May 2017, Andrew won the Professional Bassoon Competition hosted by the Fagot Netwerk (NL) in Groningen, The Netherlands. It was the first time a bassoonist won the competition playing on a period instrument.
Mathilde Gomas
Mathilde Gomas was born to a family of music lovers. As a child, she began to play the classical guitar, studying with Gérard Verba until the completion of her training at the Conservatoire Régional de Paris in 2010.
At the age of 17, Mathilde discovered Early Music through the lute and other plucked string instruments. She first studied viola da gamba with Jean-Louis Charbonnier in Paris, then Versailles with Emmanuelle Guigues while studying Musique et Musicologie at the Sorbonne university. She has performed several times with Les Pages et Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles (Olivier Schneebeli) and with Le Concert des Lumières. Mathilde has taken part in many masterclasses, courses, and workshops specializing in early repertoire, working with Marianne Müller, Paolo Pandolfo, Rainer Zipperling, Sylvia Abramowicz, Blandine Rannou, Antoine Torunczyk, C.-E. Fantin, Benjamin Perrot, Patrick Bismuth.
Since 2014, Mathilde has studied with Paolo Pandolfo in the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where she is completing her graduate studies in Early Music. Through the SCB, Mathilde has worked with many eminent performers such as Hopkinson Smith, Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, Pedro Memelsdorff, Rebeka Ruso, Andrea Marcon, Evelyn Tubb, and Randall Cook. She has performed in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Romania, Greece, and the Netherlands, both as a soloist and as a member of several ensembles, such as The Little Light Consort, Memento Mori, Primary Colours, and Accademia Barocca Lucernensis.
Andreas Westermann
Andreas Westermann was born in 1988 in Munich. From the piano, to the flute, and finally to the harpsichord, Andreas had an comprehensive introduction to music from an early age. It was through the harpsichord that he discovered historical performance practice, which he studied with Olga Watts. He later received his Staatsexam in Education at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich with a focus towards Early Music with Prof. Christine Schornsheim. There, he also received lessons in choral and ensemble conducting with Prof. Martin Steidler. In 2016, he completed his Master of Arts in the field of basso continuo and ensemble direction with distinction, studying under Prof. Jörg-Andreas Bötticher, Prof. Jesper B. Christensen and Prof. Andrea Marcon at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
In 2015 Andreas was the sole harpsichordist for the European Union Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen. He has performed with renowned musicians like Rachel Podger, Alex Potter, Amandine Beyer, and Maggie Faultless. In addition to active concert activity in Switzerland and Germany, Andreas follows his passions as an accompanist and ensemble director. He is particularly interested in the Italian music of the late 17th century as well as the esthetic and execution of basso continuo of this time. In 2016 he won the 2nd prize with the ensemble Quartet á 5 (Trossingen) at the International Brothers Graun Competition. Andreas Westermann currently lives in Basel and is a korrepetitor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.