Two ensembles have won this year's Göttingen Handel Competition. The Duo Lucescuro from Vienna will share the €5,000 prize with the ensemble Les Arcanes Baroques from The Hague, as announced by the Göttingen Handel Society on Tuesday. Both ensembles will perform at the winners' concert on Thursday.

Awards ceremony Göttingen Handel Competition

Les Arcanes Baroques also received the special prize "Music and Space" and €2,000. The duo Lucescuro was chosen by the audience as the best of the seven participating groups. In addition, vouchers for sheet music from the Bärenreiter publishing house went to the Furore Ensemble and Les Arcanes Baroques. Another special prize, a guest performance at the Vancouver Early Music Festival, was awarded to the Barque Ensemble from Łódź.

In his acceptance speech, Jochen Schäfsmeier, chairman of the jury and artistic director of the Göttingen International Handel Festival, emphasized the exceptional level of this year's competition. He stressed that the jury had not taken its decision lightly. Each of the participating ensembles, he said, was worthy of being heard in concert.

The competition is part of the Göttingen International Handel Festival, which runs until May 25. It is considered the world's oldest festival for early music and has contributed significantly to the rediscovery of the operas of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). Last year, the festival attracted around 15,000 visitors with 94 events over twelve days. The Göttingen Handel Festival celebrated its centenary in 2020.

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