Helsinki Baroque 17 (14663583979) (cropped)

René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist ...

, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

and classical opera.

Biography

Countertenor

Born in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

, Jacobs began his musical career as a boy chorister at the Cathedral. Later he studied classical philology at the University of Ghent while continuing to sing in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. The Kuijken brothers,

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Le ...

and Alfred Deller all encouraged him to pursue a career as a

, and he quickly became known as one of the best of his time. He recorded a large amount of less-known

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transit ...

by such composers as Antonio Cesti, d'India, Ferrari, Marenzio, Lambert, Guédron, William Lawes and others. He also sang in much-acclaimed recordings of the major works of Bach (such as the ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It se ...

'' led by

and

Philippe Herreweghe Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from Re ...

Conductor

In 1977, he founded the ensemble Concerto Vocale. As a conductor, Jacobs recorded numerous operas and sacred and secular works of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. His recording of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premi ...

'' is especially renowned, having won such awards as ''Gramophone''s Record of the Year for 2004, '' Le Monde de la musique''s ''Choc'' of the Year for 2004, a Grammy Award for "Best Opera recording of 2005", and two Midem Classical Awards in 2004. Other award-winning recordings include

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

's '' Rinaldo'' (Cannes Classical Award, 2004), and

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...

's '' The Seasons'' (''Diapason d’Or'' of 2005). The partial discography below lists some of the many other awards won by Jacobs' recordings. His recordings and work have won numerous awards, including the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for "Best Opera", ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

''s "Record of the Year", the "III Premio Traetta 2011", and numerous European awards. His recording of Mozart's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'' was Record of the Year at the inaugural International Classical Music Awards in April 2011. He is particularly noted as a singer's conductor, and for his handling of recitative.International record review 2 2001 "If Rene Jacobs has one overriding talent as a conductor, then it is the ability to coach his singers to breathe life into recitatives. They do so magnificently in both operas, with marvellous performances from Judith Nelson and Isabelle Poulenard" Jacobs regularly conducted such orchestras and ensembles as the

Concerto Köln Concerto Köln is an ensemble specialising in music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The group formed in 1985, one of many groups associated with the surging interest in period instruments in that decade. Its members consisted mainly o ...

, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Academy for Early Music Berlin, short name: Akamus) is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982. Each year Akamus gives approximately 100 concerts, ranging from small chamber works to large-scale s ...

, Freiburger Barockorchester,

Nederlands Kamerkoor The Netherlands Chamber Choir (Dutch ''Nederlands Kamerkoor'') is a full-time and independent professional Dutch choir. It was founded in 1937 by a :nl:Felix de Nobel as the ''Chorus Pro Musica'' to perform Bach cantatas for the Dutch radio.

and

RIAS Kammerchor The RIAS Kammerchor (RIAS Chamber Choir) is a German choir based in Berlin, Germany. It receives support from the Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin ("Berlin Radio Orchestra and Choirs"), a limited-liability company owned by the public br ...

for recordings and concert tours. In 1992, the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great ...

invited Jacobs to conduct there. From 1991 to 2009, Jacobs was the artistic director of opera programs at

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

Festwochen der Alten Musik The Innsbruck Festival of Early Music (German: Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik) is a festival of historically informed performances of music from the late Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical periods which takes place annually in Inn ...

(Innsbruck Festival of Early Music). He also taught interpretation and Baroque singing style at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Partial discography

Countertenor

* Marc-Antoine Charpentier : 3 ''Leçons de Ténèbres du Mercredy Sainct,'' H.96, H.97, H.98, 3 ''Répons'' ''du Mercrediy Sainct,'' H.111, H.112'','' H.113, 3 ''Leçons de Ténèbres du Jeudy Sainct,'' H.102, H.103, H.109, Judith Nelson, Concerto Vocale (recorded 08/1977 and 01/1978) 3 LP Harmonia Mundi HM 1005/6/7 * Marc-Antoine Charpentier : 3 ''Leçons de Ténèbres du Vendredy Sainct,'' H.105, H.106, H.110, 6 ''Répons du Mercredy Sainct.'' H.114.H.115, H.116, H.117, H.118, H.119, Judith Nelson, Concerto Vocale (Volume 2, recorded 01/1978 and 01/1979) 2 LP Harmonia Mundi HM 1008/09 * Marc-Antoine Charpentier : ''Motets à voix seule et à 2 voix,'' Judith Nelson, Concerto vocale. CD Harmonia Mundi 1984 HMC 901149 *Marc-Antoine Charpentier : ''

David et Jonathas ''David et Jonathas'' (''David and Jonathan''), H. 490, is an opera in five acts and a prologue by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier, first performed at the Collège Louis-le-Grand, Paris, on 28 February 1688. The libretto, by ...

'' H 490, (La Pythonisse), English Bach Festival Orchestra, conducted by Michel Corboz – 2 CD Erato 1982 report 2010. *

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

: ''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning a ...

'' with Mariannne Kweksilber, Magdalena Falewicz, and

La Petite Bande La Petite Bande is a Belgium-based ensemble specialising in music of the Baroque and Classical eras played on period instruments. They are particularly known for their recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel, Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. His ...

conducted by

Sigiswald Kuijken Sigiswald Kuijken (; born 16 February 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on period and original instruments. Biography Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble ...

Collegium vocale Collegium Vocale Gent is a Belgian musical ensemble of vocalists and supporting instrumentalists, founded by Philippe Herreweghe. The group is dedicated to historically informed performance. Founding and program Collegium Vocale Gent was founded ...

– 2 LP Accent 1982 * Georg Friedrich Händel: '' Tamerlano'' with John Elwes, Henri Ledroit, Mieke van der Sluis, Isabelle Poulenard,

Gregory Reinhart Gregory Reinhart (born June 18, 1951 in Pavilion, New York) is an American bass opera singer. He is noted for an extremely wide repertory which ranges from early music to the world premieres of several contemporary operas including Lowell Liebe ...

, and La Grande Ecurie et La Chambre Du Roy conducted by

Jean-Claude Malgoire Jean-Claude Malgoire (25 November 1940 – 14 April 2018) was a French oboist and later conductor. Early life Malgoire was born on 25 November 1940 in Avignon, France. His mother was born in Italy. Malgoire graduated from the Paris Conservatory. ...

– 3 LP CBS Masterworks 1984 *Georg Friedrich Händel: ''

Alessandro Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

'' with Sophie Boulin, Isabelle Poulenard, Jean Nirouët, Stephen Varcoe,

Guy de Mey Guy de Mey (born 4 August 1955) is a Belgian tenor from Sint-Niklaas. He studied with Stella Dalberg, Erna Spoorenberg, Peter Pears and Éric Tappy. It all began in 1975 when he won the first prize at the Belgian National Pro Civitate competitio ...

, Ria Bollen, and La Petite Bande conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken – 4 LP Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 1985 *Georg Friedrich Händel: '' Admeto'' with Jill Gomez, Rachel Yakar, James Bowman,

Max van Egmond Max van Egmond (born 1 February 1936 in Semarang) is a Dutch bass and baritone singer. He has focused on oratorio and Lied and is known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was one of the pioneers of historically informed performance of B ...

, Ulrik Cold, and Il Complesso Barocco conducted by Alan Curtis – 5 LP EMI 1978 *Georg Friedrich Händel: '' Partenope'' with

Krisztina Laki Krisztina Laki (born 16 September 1944) is a Hungarian coloratura soprano who worked mainly on the opera stage in Germany, with guest appearances in major European opera houses. She has held master classes internationally. Career Born in Érd, ...

, John York Skinner, Helga Müller-Molinari,

Stephen Varcoe Christopher Stephen Varcoe (born 19 May 1949 in Lostwithiel, Cornwall) is an English classical bass-baritone singer, appearing internationally in opera and concert, known for Baroque and contemporary music and a notable singer of Lieder. Profes ...

, Martyn Hill, and La Petite Bande conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken – 4 LP Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 1979

Conductor

* Bach – ''

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanc ...

'' *Bach – ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'' (Choc du Monde de la Musique; ClassicsToday.com) *Bach – The Motets (award: Diapason d'Or) *Bach – Secular

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning o ...

s *

Blow Blow commonly refers to: * Cocaine *Exhalation * Strike (attack) Blow, Blew, Blowing, or Blown may also refer to: People * Blew (surname) * Blow (surname) Arts and entertainment Music *The Blow, an American electro-pop band Albums * ''Blo ...

– '' Venus and Adonis'' * Buxtehude – ''

Membra Jesu Nostri ''Membra Jesu nostri'', BuxWV 75, is a cycle of seven cantatas composed in 1680 by Dieterich Buxtehude and dedicated to Gustaf Düben. More specifically and fully it is, in Buxtehude’s phrase, a ''�devotionedecantata,”'' or “sung devotion, ...

'' * Caldara – ''Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo'' (awards: Gramophone Award; Diapason d'or) * Cavalli – La Calisto (awards: Cannes Classical Award; Diapason d'or) *Cavalli –

Giasone ''Giasone'' (''Jason'') is an opera in three acts and a prologue with music by Francesco Cavalli and a libretto by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini. It was premiered at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice on 5 January 1649, during carnival. The plot is l ...

(1988) *Cavalli – '' Xerxes'' – (awards: Choc du Monde de la Musique; Diapason d'or; Un événement Télérama (ffff)) * Cesti – Cantatas *Cesti – Orontea * Couperin – ''

Leçons de Ténèbres Leçons de ténèbres ( 'lessons of darkness'; sometimes spelled Leçons des ténèbres) is a genre of French Baroque music which developed from the polyphonic lamentations settings for the tenebrae service of Renaissance composers such as Sermis ...

'' *

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he ...

– ''

'' (awards: Cannes Classical Awards) * Grandi – ''Vulnerasti cor meum'' and other sacred music *

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

– '' Giulio Cesare'' *Handel- ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' *Handel – '' Rinaldo'' ((awards: Cannes Classical Award) *Handel- ''

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

'' ((awards: Editor's choice ''Gramophone''; Choc du Monde de la musique; ''BBC Music Magazine'' Disc of the Month (October 2005)) *Handel – '' Orlando'' ((awards: DG Archiv) * Haydn – '' Die Jahreszeiten'' (awards: Choc du Monde de la Musique; Edison Classical Music Award; Gramophone Award) *Haydn – '' Die Schöpfung'' *Haydn – Symphonies Nos. 91 and 92 (awards: Choc du Monde de la Musique; Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik; Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik) * Keiser - ''

Croesus Croesus ( ; Lydian: ; Phrygian: ; grc, Κροισος, Kroisos; Latin: ; reigned: c. 585 – c. 546 BC) was the king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. Croesus was r ...

'' (awards: Edison Classical Music Award; Diapaison d'or) * Monteverdi – '' L'Orfeo'' (awards: Choc 2006) *Monteverdi – ''

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'' ( SV 325, ''The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland'') is an opera consisting of a prologue and five acts (later revised to three), set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first p ...

'' (Diapason d'or; Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik) *Monteverdi – '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'' *Monteverdi – '' Vespro della beata Vergine'' *Monteverdi – Madrigals *

– ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte ...

'' (Cannes Classical Awards; Diapason d'or; Edison Classical Music Award) *Mozart – '' Le nozze di Figaro'' (awards: 47th Grammy Award; Choc du Monde de la Musique; Edison Classical Music Award; Gramophone Record of the Year 2004; Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik *Mozart – '' La clemenza di Tito'' (awards: Critics award at the Brits Classics 2007; 10 de Classica-Répertoire; Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik; Un événement Télérama (ffff) *Mozart – ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; Köchel catalogue, K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The rake (stock character), Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Pon ...

'' (awards: Gramophone Record of the Month, October 2007; Classics Today 10/10) *Mozart – Symphonies Nos. 38 and 41 (awards: 10 de Classica-Répertoire; Diapason d'Or Arte) *Mozart – '' Idomeneo'' (awards: Scherzo, Choc de Classica, Un événement Télérama (ffff) *

Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist *Michael Angelo Pergolesi Michael Angelo Pergolesi () was an Italian decorative artist from th ...

– ''Stabat Mater'' * Purcell – '' Dido and Aeneas''; (awards: Editor's choice Gramophone; Un événement Télérama (ffff) * Scarlatti – ''Il primo omicidio'' (overo caïn) (awards: Diapason d'or; Editor's choice Gramophone; Gramophone Award; Le Timbre de Platine *Scarlatti – '' Griselda'' (awards: 10 de Répertoire; Diapason d'or; Le Timbre de Platine) * Schubert – ''Symphonies 1 & 6,'' Pentatone PTC 5186707 (2018) * Schubert – ''Symphonies 2 & 3,'' Pentatone PTC 5186759 (2020) BBC Radio 3 Record Review Choice of Marina Frolova-Walker 03/10/2020 * Schütz – ''Christmas Oratorio'' (awards: Diapason d'or; Un événement Télérama (ffff)) * Zelenka – ''Magnificat'' & ''Lamenti''

Literature

* Jozef Robijns en Miep Zijlstra, Algemene Muziek Encyclopedie deel 5, Unieboek 1981, pagina 36 * Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 985 pages, * Nicolas Blanmont, ''René Jacobs, prima la musica, prime le parole'', uitgave Versant Sud (2009) * ''René Jacobs im Gespräch mit Silke Leopold: "Ich will Musik neu erzählen",'' Bärenreiter Henschel, Kassel 2013, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Rene 1946 births Living people Belgian male singers Belgian conductors (music) Belgian male musicians Male conductors (music) Belgian opera singers Edison Classical Music Awards winners Grammy Award winners Operatic countertenors Belgian performers of early music Musicians from Ghent Schola Cantorum Basiliensis faculty Bach conductors 21st-century conductors (music) Harmonia Mundi artists