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Gérard Lesne
Gérard Lesne (; born 15 July 1956) is a French countertenor. He is also the founder and artistic director of the baroque music ensemble, Il Seminario Musicale. Life and career Gérard Lesne was born in Montmorency, Val-d'Oise. He was originally a rock singer, but in 1979 the tenor Zeger Vandersteene introduced him to René Clemencic, a pioneer of work in the medieval repertoire, and at age 23, Lesne began touring with the Clemencic Consort. Lesne has made more than 70 recordings and has appeared as a soloist at numerous opera houses and music festivals including the Opéra de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, La Fenice, Opéra National de Lyon, Théâtre du Châtelet, Teatro San Carlo, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Utrecht Early Music Festival, and Boston Early Music Festival. Since 1993, Gérard Lesne has taught annual courses in vocal interpretation at Royaumont Abbey in France. In 2004, Gerard Lesne was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 (a specific kind of countertenor) may match the soprano's range of around C4 to C6.A sopranist is a term, widely used falsely, used to describe a countertenor whose vocal range is so high it is equivalent to that of a soprano. Countertenors often have tenor or baritone chest voices, but sing in falsetto or head voice much more often than they do in their chest voice. The nature of the countertenor voice has radically changed throughout musical history, from a modal voice, to a modal and falsetto voice, to the primarily falsetto voice that is denoted by the term today. This is partly because of changes in human physiology ( increase in body height) and partly because of fluctuations in pitch. The term first came into use in England during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cantigas De Santa Maria
The ''Cantigas de Santa Maria'' (, ; "Canticles of Holy Mary") are 420 poems with musical notation, written in the medieval Galician-Portuguese language during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile, Alfonso X of Castile ''El Sabio'' (1221–1284). Traditionally, they are all attributed to Alfonso, though scholars have since established that the musicians and poets of his court were responsible for most of them, with Alfonso being credited with a few as well. It is one of the largest collections of monophonic (solo) songs from the Middle Ages and is characterized by the mention of the Mary, the mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary in every song, while every tenth song is a hymn. The ''Cantigas'' have survived in four manuscript codices: two at El Escorial, one at Madrid, Madrid's Biblioteca Nacional de España, National Library, and one in Florence, Italy. The E codex from El Escorial is illuminated with colored Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniatures showing pairs of musicians playin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Orff
Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl Heinrich Maria Orff was born in Munich on 10 July 1895, the son of Paula Orff (née Köstler, 1872–1960) and Heinrich Orff (1869–1949). His family was Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavarian and was active in the Imperial German Army; his father was an army officer with strong musical interests, and his mother was a trained pianist. His grandfathers, Carl von Orff (1828–1905) and Karl Köstler (1837–1924), were both major generals and also scholars. His paternal grandmother, Fanny Orff (née Kraft, 1833–1919), was Catholic of Jewish descent. His maternal grandmother was Maria Köstler (née Aschenbrenner, 1845–1906). Orff had one sibling, his younger sister Maria ("Mia", 1898–1975), who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carmina Burana (Orff)
' is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection '' Carmina Burana''. Its full Latin title is ' ("Songs of Beuern: Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magical images"). It was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 8 June 1937. It is part of '' Trionfi'', a musical triptych that also includes '' Catulli Carmina'' and '' Trionfo di Afrodite''. The first and last sections of the piece are called "" ("Fortune, Empress of the World") and start with " O Fortuna". The autograph manuscript of the work is preserved in the Bavarian State Library, and was issued in a facsimile edition by Schott Music. Text In 1934, Orff encountered the 1847 edition of the '' Carmina Burana'' by Johann Andreas Schmeller, the original text dating mostly from the 11th or 12th century, including some from the 13th century. was a young law student and an enthusiast of Latin and Greek; he assisted Orff in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Christie (musician)
William Lincoln Christie (born December 19, 1944) is an American-born French conductor and harpsichordist. He is a specialist in baroque and classical repertoire and is the founder of the ensemble Les Arts Florissants. Biography Christie studied art history at Harvard University, where he was briefly assistant conductor of the Harvard Glee Club. From 1966, he began studies at Yale University in music, where he was a student of harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick. He was opposed to the Vietnam War, and served in a reserve officers course to avoid the draft. He subsequently taught at Dartmouth College. When his Dartmouth post was not renewed, Christie moved first to the United Kingdom (1970), and in 1971 to France. He was one of a number of young men who left the United States at this time because of disagreement with the Vietnam War, and in order to avoid the draft. In France, he became known for his interpretations of Baroque music, particularly French Baroque music, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Arts Florissants (ensemble)
Les Arts Florissants is a Baroque musical ensemble, France. The organization was founded by conductor William Christie in 1979. The ensemble derives its name from the 1685 opera '' Les Arts florissants'' by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The organization consists of a chamber orchestra of period instruments and a small vocal ensemble. Christie remains the organization's artistic director, alongside British tenor Paul Agnew who became co-musical director in 2020. Work Although not specifically a Baroque opera ensemble, it is within this field that Les Arts Florissants has achieved its greatest successes. The majority of the ensemble's performances are of period operas (both staged and in concert), many of which are available on CD on the Harmonia Mundi and Erato labels and on DVD. The group first drew international acclaim in the area of opera in December 1986-January 1987 with a production of Jean-Baptiste Lully's '' Atys'' at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. The opera had not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Et Jonathas
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damascus in the late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE to commemorate a victory over two enemy kings, contains the phrase (), which is translated as " House of David" by most scholars. The Mesha Stele, erected by King Mesha of Moab in the 9th century BCE, may also refer to the "House of David", although this is disputed. According to Jewish works such as the ''Seder Olam Rabbah'', '' Seder Olam Zutta'', and ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' (all written over a thousand years later), David ascended the throne as the king of Judah in 885 BCE. Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged,Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel; by Isaac Kalimi; page 32; Cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Purves
Christopher Watt Purves (born 11 October 1961) is an English bass-baritone. Early life Purves was born in Cambridge, the youngest of the four sons of Dr Michael Jarvie Purves and his wife Dr Jean Purves, both physicians. He sang as a boy treble in the choir of King's College, Cambridge,Erica Jeal, "Christopher Purves" in ''Opera'' (2009), vol. 60, p. 516, "Purves sings his first Falstaff at Glyndebourne this month... Home was Cambridge, where as a boy treble he sang in the choir of King's College. ... (Gerald Finley was the fellow bass of his year group: the tenor Mark Padmore was in the year above.)" where he was later a choral scholar, studying English literature. By the time he was a student, Purves was singing bass, alongside Gerald Finley, who was in the same year group. The tenor Mark Padmore was another contemporary. He graduated BA in 1983, promoted to MA in 1987. After leaving Cambridge, Purves joined the close harmony group Harvey and the Wallbangers. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alessandro Stradella
Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella (Bologna, 3 July 1643 – Genoa, 25 February 1682) was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque period. He enjoyed a dazzling career as a freelance composer, writing on commission, and collaborating with distinguished poets, producing over three hundred works in a variety of genres. Life Stradella was born in Bologna on 3 July 1643 to the aristocrats Marc'Antonio Stradella (1579-1649) from Nepi (in the province of Viterbo), and his second wife, Vittoria Bartoli from Orvieto, and baptised Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella on 1 August 1643 in Bologna. His godfather in proxy was , who had appointed his father vice-marquis of Vignola on 7 June 1642. Although the family resided in Nepi, they were temporarily in Bologna, taking refuge from papal troops attacking Vignola.Garavaglia 2019. He was educated at Rome, and was already making a name for himself as a composer at the age of 24. In 1667 he composed a Latin oratorio (lost) for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still used today as a fanfare during television broadcasts of the Eurovision Network and the European Broadcasting Union. Marc-Antoine Charpentier dominated the Baroque musical scene in seventeenth century France because of the quality of his prolific output. He mastered all genres, and his skill in writing sacred vocal music was especially hailed by his contemporaries. He began his career by going to Italy, where he fell under the influence of Giacomo Carissimi as well as other Italian composers, perhaps Domenico Mazzocchi. He would remain marked by the Italian style and become the only one with Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville in France to approach the oratorio. In 1670, he became a master of music (composer and singer) in the se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgin Classics
Virgin Classics was a record label founded in 1988 as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Records. The unit, along with EMI Classics, was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2012 as part of the takeover of the EMI Music Group, however the terms of the European Commission's September 2012 approval of the takeover requires divestment of the classical labels which were sold on 7 February 2013 to Warner Music Group. The European Union approved the deal in May 2013. Warner Music's Warner Classics unit absorbed the Virgin Classics artists roster and catalogue into Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Erato Disques S.A. by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Bo ... but lost the rights to use either the EMI or Virgin names. Principal artists * Piotr Anderszewski * Leif Ove Andsnes * Nicholas Angelich * Fabio Biondi * G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Caldara
Antonio Caldara ( – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer. Life Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, probably under the instruction of Giovanni Legrenzi. In 1699 he relocated to Mantua, where he became '' maestro di cappella'' to the inept Charles IV, Duke of Mantua, a pensionary of France with a French wife, who took the French side in the War of the Spanish Succession. Caldara removed from Mantua in 1707, after the French were expelled from Italy, then moved on to Barcelona as chamber composer to Charles III, the pretender to the Spanish throne (following the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 without any direct heir) and who kept a royal court at Barcelona. There, he wrote some operas that are the first Italian operas performed in Spain. He moved on to Rome, becoming ''maestro di cappella'' to Francesco Maria Marescotti Ruspoli, 1st Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
