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
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N'espérez plus mes yeux... Airs sérieux et à boire, Vol. 3
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Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Released by harmonia mundi on 30 Apr 2021
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Haydn: Die Schöpfung
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Charpentier: David et Jonathas H.490
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Opera - Released by harmonia mundi on 20 Nov 1988
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Les 1001 voyages de Claudio Monteverdi
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Children - Released by LittleVillage on 17 Feb 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harmonia Sacra & Divine Anthems
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 14 Sep 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi: Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
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Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 7 Jun 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Concertos - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J. S. Bach: Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4: II. Coro "Christ lag in Todes Banden"
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Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Mar 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo, SV 318 (Live)
Opera - Released by Dynamic on 21 May 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gesualdo: Madrigals
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 17 Mar 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell Edition Volume 2 : The Indian Queen, The Tempest, Dioclesian & Timon of Athens
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on 24 Nov 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Campra: Idoménée
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Opera - Released by harmonia mundi on 9 Mar 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Arts Florissants: Secular Music
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Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 5 Apr 2019
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De Lalande: Grands Motets
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Chamber Music - Released by harmonia mundi on 18 Mar 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi: Lamento de là ninfa & altri canti
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Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Released by harmonia mundi on 20 Apr 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi: Madrigali: Cremona Vol. 1
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Classical - Released by Les Arts Florisants on 11 May 2015
Choc de Classica5 de DiapasonGramophone AwardGramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Charpentier: Le Reniement de saint Pierre & Méditations pour le Carême
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Jan 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
De Lalande: Petits Motets
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 7 Dec 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bouzignac: Te Deum, Motets
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Dec 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Campra: Grand Motets
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 4 Nov 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lambert: Airs de cour
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Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo