Peter Kooij is one of the leading bass singers in the early music scene, which becomes even clearer on his new CD ‘Die stille Nacht’ (The silent night) with Passion cantatas for solo bass by Telemann. His agile voice, the simple, yet rich timbre, the well-dosed expressive power: All of this shows Kooij’s elegant musicality and makes him an ideal baroque singer, especially for the atmospheric cantatas by Telemann. The Dutch bass, Peter Kooij, started his musical career at the age of six as a choirboy and sang many solo soprano parts in concerts and on records. However, he started his formal musical studies as a violin student. This was followed by singing tuition from Max van Egmond at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, and in 1980 he obtained a diploma for solo performance. Peter Kooij is the artistic director of the "Ensemble Vocal Européen.”