Ensemble Organum
Ensemble Organum, from France, is one of the most durable groups in Europe, specializing in the music of the early medieval period. With a repertory stretching back to the sixth century CE, the ensemble attempts in-depth re-creations of unusual early repertories, buttressing their performances with musicological research.
Ensemble Organum was founded in 1982 by Marcel Pérès, a choral director, musicologist, and composer who had studied medieval music under Michel Huglo at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris. He remains its director. The group's membership is flexible, varying according to the needs of the varied repertories it explores, and prominent singers, including countertenor Gérard Lesne and bass Antoine Sicot, have been members at various times. The repertory of Ensemble Organum focuses mostly on sacred music of the Middle Ages, notably including the non-Gregorian chant repertories that otherwise have been little recorded. Known by the names Beneventan, Old Roman, Gallican, Carolingian, and Mozarabic Chant, these melodies flourished in regional centers prior to, and to an extent in parallel with, the Gregorian chant that became standardized over time. The group works with historians and musicologists to carry out research on the performance of these repertories. Ensemble Organum also performs Renaissance polyphony as well as more recent choral music. The group's performances often involve women, and a Women of Ensemble Organum also performs and records. Ensemble Organum was based at Sénanque Abbey and Royaumont Abbey before moving to Moissac Abbey in 2001, where it established a research center.
Ensemble Organum is notable for its catalog of some 35 albums, many of them recorded for the Harmonia Mundi label. The group was especially busy during the 1990s, issuing six albums in the year 1992 alone. It's 1997 recording of Machaut's Messe de Notre Dame was widely praised. In the 2000s decade, Ensemble Organum recorded for Ambroisie, Naïve, and Zig Zag Territoires before returning, after a nearly decade-long pause, to Harmonia Mundi for the 2021 album In Memoria Eterna: A Spiritual Vigil for the New Century.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
8 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Le chant des Templiers
Ensemble Organum, Mercel Pérès
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 11 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hildegard von Bingen: Laudes de sainte Ursule
Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès
Choirs (sacred) - Released by harmonia mundi on 9 May 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Compostela "Ad vesperas Sancti Iacobi"
Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 11 Jan 2005
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
In memoria eterna
Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès
Choirs (sacred) - Released by harmonia mundi on 18 Jun 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozarabic Chant
Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 12 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
École de Notre-Dame de Paris : Mass for the Nativity of the Virgin
Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Nov 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mass for Christmas Day
Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès
Choirs (sacred) - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Oct 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Guillaume de Machaut: Messe de Notre-Dame
Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 10 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo