Les Arts Florissants
France's Les Arts Florissants was a pioneering ensemble when the group was formed in 1979, unearthing Baroque works from France and beyond and performing them in historically authentic style. The group's influence has hardly diminished over its four decades of existence; it has spawned numerous operatic careers and has established a successful training program, Le Jardin des Voix.
Les Arts Florissants was founded by the harpsichordist William Christie, who had left the U.S. because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. A scholar as well as a musician, Christie largely created the group's repertory on his own; the works of French Baroque theatrical and choral composers like Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Jean-Philippe Rameau were only sparsely known to audiences when Christie began his work, but he edited new scores for performance, often delving into the collection of Paris' Bibliothèque Nationale. By 1985, Les Arts Florissants were mounting productions of French operas, like Rameau's Anacréon and Charpentier's Actéon, sumptuous French court works that required full-scale authentic performances to come alive. In 1987, the group received the first of several Grand Prix de la Critique awards for its production of Jean-Baptiste Lully's Atys, which subsequently toured Europe and New York.
Les Arts Florissants attracted the attention of major French recording companies almost immediately, signing with Harmonia Mundi and releasing a recording of works by the almost unknown composer Etienne Moulinié in 1980. That was the beginning of a partnership with Harmonia Mundi that, by the mid-2020s, had grown to encompass well over 100 albums. Les Arts Florissants has recorded choral music with its own Les Arts Florissants Choir, often focusing on the French grand motet repertory, and it has performed and recorded Italian and English operatic works. At the center of its repertory, however, is French opera, a field in which it has reigned supreme, working with France's top stage directors and choreographers. The stability of the Les Arts Florissants sound has been partly due to the long-term leadership of Christie, who turned over some duties to tenor and conductor Paul Agnew in the late 2000s but has remained active and vital in his involvement with the group.
Over time, the group's repertory has expanded forward in time somewhat to include the music of Mozart, but unlike other early music groups, Les Arts Florissants has not attempted contemporary works. In 2002, Christie founded Le Jardin des Voix ("The Garden of Voices"), which soon became one of Europe's top enterprises for the training of young talent in the historical-performance field. Les Arts Florissants did not slacken its pace in the 2010s, releasing several albums a year. In 2019, under Christie, the group released Si vous vouliez un jour: Airs sérieux et à boire, Vol. 2, on Harmonia Mundi. Les Arts Florissants remained active throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing 11 albums on Harmonia Mundi between 2021 and 2023 alone. Those included Schütz: Italian Madrigals in 2023.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Artistas semelhantes
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Gesualdo: Madrigali, Libri terzo & quarto
Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew
Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 5 de fev. de 2021
Diapason d'or24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lully: Petits Motets
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Sacred Vocal Music - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 24 de dez. de 1987
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rameau: Castor & Pollux
Les Arts Florissants and William Christie
Classical - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 8 de mar. de 1993
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
M.A. Charpentier: Cæcilia Virgo et Martyr, H.413 - Filius prodigus, H.399 - Magnificat, H.73
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Classical - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 1 de nov. de 1999
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629 (2023 Remaster)
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Opera - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 1 de jan. de 1989
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Campra: Cantates françaises
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Cantatas (secular) - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 10 de dez. de 1986
4 étoiles ClassicaQualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossi: Oratorios
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Sacred Oratorios - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 5 de abr. de 1982
4 étoiles ClassicaDiapason d'orQualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Montéclair: La Mort de Didon
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Cantatas (secular) - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 8 de dez. de 1988
4 étoiles ClassicaDiapason d'orQualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Charpentier: Pastorale de Noël
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Sacred Vocal Music - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 20 de ago. de 1981
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lully: Atys
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Opera - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 28 de fev. de 1987
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le Jardin de Monsieur Rameau
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Opera - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 1 de abr. de 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Si vous vouliez un jour… Airs sérieux et à boire, Vol. 2
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Mélodies (French) - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 11 de jan. de 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Charpentier: Médée
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Opera - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 20 de ago. de 1984
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lamentazione (Scarlatti, Leo, Legrenzi, Lotti, Caldara)
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 19 de set. de 2011
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Charpentier: Les arts florissants
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Opera - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 5 de jan. de 1982
A discografia ideal da QobuzQualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rameau: Castor & Pollux (Choruses & Dances)
Les Arts Florissants and William Christie
Classical - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 8 de mar. de 1993
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Arts Florissants: Music & Theater
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Classical - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 5 de abr. de 2019
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Maîtres du Motet (Brossard, Bouteiller) (Live)
Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew
Sacred Vocal Music - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 28 de set. de 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Les Arts Florissants: Sacred Music
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, Paul Agnew
Classical - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 5 de abr. de 2019
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi: Madrigali Vol. 3, Venezia (Live)
Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew
Opera - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 17 de fev. de 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
N'espérez plus mes yeux... Airs sérieux et à boire, Vol. 3
William Christie, Les Arts Florissants
Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 30 de abr. de 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo