{"id":139856,"date":"2026-02-20T11:21:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139856\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:21:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:21:06","slug":"fairies-and-queens-jasmin-binde-on-singing-early-music-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139856\/","title":{"rendered":"Fairies and queens: Jasmin Binde on singing Early music in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article series, together with\u00a0Sustainable EEEMERGING<\/a>\u00a0and its partners, we explore Early music across Europe \u2013 and the challenges faced by young artists in various countries across the continent. What is the condition of Early music today?
This article was supported by H\u00e4ndel-Festspiele G\u00f6ttingen.<\/p>\n

Jasmin Binde is working on getting louder. Several times a day, the young Bavarian soprano practices a vocal exercise designed to turn up the volume. The reason for this steady crescendo? This summer, after a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Music Education, another in Vocal Studies, a Masters in Flute and another Master\u2019s in Voice, all at Munich\u2019s Hochschule f\u00fcr Musik und Theater\/University of Music & Drama, she will \u2013 after eight years (and possibly quite a lot of noodle suppers) finally make it out into the open and a career as a soloist. Or maybe as half a soloist and half a professional choral singer, she\u2019s undecided. Maybe opera, too, she has some feelers out, but most of all she\u2019s looking forward to trying things to see what happens. Her voice \u2013 she is 25 \u2013 is still finding its m\u00e9tier.<\/p>\n

\"Jasmin<\/p>\n

Jasmin Binde<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Dora Drexel<\/p>\n

Like that of many singers, Binde\u2019s career trajectory so far has been indirect. \u201cYou cannot start starting singing so early,\u201d she explains, on a video call from Munich. \u201cI started at the Bavarian Youth Choir when I was 16 and my teacher there said to me, yes, maybe it will be OK, but you have to improve and so on.\u201d At that time her dream was to be a harpist. \u201cMy parents bought me a big concert harp when I was 17 and they said \u201cWe buy you this one, but then you have to study it. So that was it.\u201d Many parent-chauffeurs will sympathise but, to be fair, she was also studying the flute, altogether easier to transport. <\/p>\n

Quite sensibly, Binde began her studies in Music Education so as to have a steady job to fall back on should things not work out, but her experiences in the Bavarian Youth Choir, which she describes as \u201ca family\u201d turned out to be formative, and a spur towards a more creative life. \u201cWe had three weeks every year when we would practise and have voice lessons, as well as drama lessons. We all had an opera aria and we would go to a teacher and stage it together. It was such a nice experience.\u201d And quite competitive: \u201cThere were 70 young people the same age as I was and every one of us wanted to be the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many of her colleagues in the choir, Binde eventually realised that singing was going to be her thing, and, having already graduated twice, embarked on another round of studies in Munich, this time in voice, under the tutelage of German bass-baritone Andreas Schmidt. Somewhere along the way, Early music came calling.<\/p>\n

Jasmin Binde in The Fairy Queen with Laura Hemingway and Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Audi AG<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually it really just happened over the last year. I had lots of projects at the university and with other choirs and different vocal ensembles. And so I just came to Early music. I sung, for example, Purcell\u2019s The Fairy Queen last year. And then afterwards Dido and Aeneas.\u201d Both performances were in Bavaria: Ingolstadt and Munich. \u201cThen I went to the Balthasar Neumann Academy in Hamburg and I just got to know some more musicians \u2013 some from Munich actually \u2013 who studied Baroque music, Baroque violin and harpsichord, and we formed an ensemble for the G\u00f6ttingen Handel competition.\u201d This proved something of a success, as Binde\u2019s international ensemble, Les Fleurs du Bien (Lin Ling, flute; Valeriia Kustitska, violin; Claudia Cecchinato, cello; Adam Riha, theorbo; and\u00a0Veronika Sazonova, harpsichord) came away with the 2025 B\u00e4renreiter Urtext Prize, and were praised by the jury for the quality of their dramaturgy and interpretation.<\/p>\n

For Binde, it\u2019s the freedom and lightness of touch of the Baroque repertoire that appeals. \u201cI love Early music very much because I feel so free there. You can do any ornamentation you want.\u201d She also loves contemporary repertoire, and Mozart. \u201cBel canto is maybe nouot for me at the moment, it might come at some time but I\u2019m not sure. I don\u2019t have a big Wagner soprano\u2026\u201d I ask politely if she\u2019d really want it? \u201cMost of the very well-known artists have very big voices, and I guess that will never be possible for me. But that\u2019s OK. Mozart is very nice for my voice.\u201d The Queen of the Night aside, the Concert Arias are favourites, thought they can be demanding to learn and a work-out to perform. She\u2019s currently preparing Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle. \u201cIt\u2019s 8 minutes long and that\u2019s quite challenging for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jasmin Binde and Les Fleurs du Bien perform an aria from\u00a0Maria Antonia Walpurgis\u2019 Talestri (1760).<\/p>\n

Whether she\u2019s working in the Baroque, contemporary or classical repertoire, there\u2019s always a lot to remember and a plenty more to learn. Repetition is the key. \u201cA few weeks ago I did the Dulcissime in Carmina Burana and it was my first time. You know that last part where it goes to the D? I did that, like, twenty times a day and thought \u201cyes, that\u2019s getting better\u201d. Carl Orff \u2013 himself an alumnus of Munich\u2019s Hochschule \u2013 would certainly approve.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely that top D\u2019s will present much of a challenge for Binde as she graduates into Germany\u2019s crowded Early music scene, but there is the perennial uncertainty of a freelance career, and the need to attract sufficient audiences to make it work. Ironically, though, her first thought is on transportation. \u201cThe first thing is the instruments. It\u2019s sometimes very difficult to transport a harpsichord! Lots of people have pianos and so on. But harpsichords are never there.\u201d An opportunity for a fan who no longer has to transport a concert harp, perhaps? \u201cThe other thing is freelancing is not that easy at the moment. Maybe it gets better, but I think most of the ensembles do project-based work. There are a few orchestras like Akamus in Berlin, but most people are freelancers. You have to be very informed about everything; that\u2019s a high level of specialisation but of course that\u2019s also something very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Galakonzert at H\u00e4ndel-Festspiele G\u00f6ttingen 2025<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Alciro Theodoro da Silva<\/p>\n

To get a broader perspective on the situation in Germany, I put a few questions to Jochen Sch\u00e4fsmeier, Intendant of the H\u00e4ndel-Festspiele G\u00f6ttingen, at whose affiliated competition Binde has been recently successful. \u201cThe competitions in Innsbruck, G\u00f6ttingen, Yorck and Leipzig can certainly continue to boost careers,\u201d Sch\u00e4fsmeier says. \u201cResidencies at festivals are also significant \u2013 perhaps precisely because they are a kind of pre-selection process for organisers.\u201d Beyond these opportunities, the market and landscape has grown significantly in the past few decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion,\u201d Sch\u00e4fsmeier says, \u201chistorical performance practice has left its niche and earned its place in the programmes of concert organisers. The standard of musicians and ensembles has risen enormously: hardly any work in the standard repertoire fails to be playable on historical instruments these days.\u201d But this expansion has had a marked effect on the repertoire itself. \u201c20 years ago, criteria such as \u2018rediscovery\u2019 and \u2018world premiere recording\u2019 promoted sales, countertenors were admired, and virtuoso instrumental concertos suffered from intonation or technical flaws.\u201d Today the situation is different. \u201cConcert programmes are presented more within a dramaturgical framework: we now also look to so-called Early music for answers to the social questions of our time. The artists of the younger generation seem to be taking up this challenge with imaginative and interesting programmes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still the challenge is considerable, especially for beginning ensembles trying to differentiate themselves. Sch\u00e4fsmeier is blunt: \u201cI believe that ensembles need to focus more on the market and their customers: for which organiser, ie., for which audience, am I putting together this or that programme? Or in other words, how do I have to put together a programme so that it will be considered by this or that organiser? This question goes far beyond the quality of the performance; it places comprehensive entrepreneurial demands on the artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is in this distinctly entrepreneurial context that the need for schemes like S-EEEMERGING comes into focus, designed to aid beginning ensembles to establish themselves in a sustainable manner, financially and artistically. For Sch\u00e4fsmeier, ensembles taking up unusual programming ideas, working with choreographers, lighting and other visual elements \u201conly works because the musical quality is so high\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dance troupe Flying Steps with Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt in The Fairy Queen\n<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Audi AG<\/p>\n

For Binde, as someone still performing largely to young audiences within the university, it\u2019s difficult to make sage pronouncements on the diversity of audiences for Early music in the Germany as a whole. \u201cBut,\u201d she says, \u201cwe have a very dense landscape in general, in all music and of course also lots of festivals and academies.\u201d There are plenty of initiatives, too, involving the very young and the very old \u2013 making music in primary schools and care homes is all part of the mix. \u201cAnd it\u2019s important to stage new formats \u2013 like light shows, for example. The repertoire is getting bigger and bigger. I think because everyone wants to find something new and do something new. I guess there’s always something that has to be more than just music. Last year with the Fairy Queen we had a breakdance company and of course this was very interesting for younger people, it made so much fun. I think you can combine these things with Early music.\u201d <\/p>\n

But the most immediate challenge is the dreaded flu season. What does she do to avoid it? \u201cWear a mask on public transport, drink lots of ginger tea and take honey and lemon in the evening\u201d. It\u2019s good advice: but then, strength and sweetness might just be Jasmin Binde\u2019s signature pairing.<\/p>\n

See upcoming performances of Early music in Germany<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sustainable EEEMERGING<\/a> is funded\u00a0by the European Union.\u00a0
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.<\/p>\n

This article was sponsored by Centre culturel de rencontre d\u2019Ambronay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this article series, together with\u00a0Sustainable EEEMERGING\u00a0and its partners, we explore Early music across Europe \u2013 and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-139856","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}