Boston Camerata
The Boston Camerata is one of the oldest early music ensembles in the U.S., and one of the oldest in the world to have attempted thematic programs that draw on various repertories. Directed for nearly 40 years by Joel Cohen, the ensemble developed a characteristic and consistent sound.
The Boston Camerata was founded in 1954. In its first years, it was connected to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts as an ensemble that presented then-rare concerts of music from the eras of the museum's famous paintings and performed on the institution's collection of instruments. In 1969, Cohen became director of the Camerata. Cohen, a Harvard graduate, was a lutenist, conductor, and musicologist who had studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He took the Camerata in new directions, and the ensemble severed its ties to the museum. It began a busy schedule of international touring that has continued unabated, making trips to Europe, Singapore, Mexico, and other locations. At home, in addition to an annual subscription series in Boston, the Camerata has appeared at the Tanglewood Festival, the Kalamazoo Medieval Institute, and, every two years, the Boston Early Music Festival. Especially notable was a 2011 residency in Reims, France, celebrating the 800th anniversary of Reims Cathedral. In 2008, Cohen was replaced by soprano and scholar Anne Azéma; Cohen became musical director emeritus and has remained active with the group.
A notable feature of the group's repertory both in performance and on recordings has been the presence of early American choral and vocal music, as on the 2000 release The Golden Harvest: More Shaker Chants and Spirituals. That was one of two albums devoted to the music of the Shakers and made in Sabbathday Lake, Maine, home to the sole remaining Shaker community. The recording career of the Boston Camerata goes back to 1968 and features several releases on the major pop label Elektra. Many of its albums have appeared on Erato. After Azéma's appointment, there was a hiatus in the Camerata's recording career, but the group returned in 2019 with Treasures of Devotion: European Spiritual Song ca. 1500, on Music & Arts.
Cohen and Azéma have both received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the government of France.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Certon: Chansons
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Mar 20, 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An American Christmas
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Warner Classics International on Sep 3, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Noël, Noël ! A French Christmas
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Warner Classics International on Oct 5, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sing We Noel [Christmas]
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Nonesuch on Dec 6, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Baroque Christmas
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on Aug 14, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Medieval Christmas
Christmas Music - Released by Nonesuch on Nov 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Renaissance Christmas
Christmas Music - Released by Nonesuch on Sep 13, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Joel Cohen: Lo Gai Saber - Troubadours And Minstrels 1100-1300
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Warner Classics International on Nov 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carmina Burana [c1230] (- Apex)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Nov 25, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
With Joyful Voice
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on Oct 26, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nueva Española - Close Encounters of the New World, 1590-1690 - Apex (- Apex)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Oct 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Mediterranean Christmas
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Warner Classics International on Oct 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Farewell, Unkind. Songs & Dances of Dowland
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jul 30, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lamentations - Holy Week in Provence - Apex (- Apex)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Mar 3, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jewish Baroque Music
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Dec 12, 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Angels - Voices from Eternity
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Nov 14, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liberty Tree. Early American Music, 1776-1861
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Aug 18, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo