Accentus is a French chamber choir founded by

Laurence Equilbey Laurence Equilbey (born 6 March 1962) is a French conductor, known for her work in the choral repertoire, and more recently as the founder and music director of the Insula Orchestra. She also founded the chamber choir Accentus in 1991, and has ...

in 1991. The ensemble has been in residence at the

Opéra de Rouen The Rouen Opera House, formally known as Rouen Normandy Opera House - Theatre of Arts (French: ''Opéra de Rouen Normandie - Théâtre des arts'') is a French opera house located in Rouen, Normandy. It is home to the Rouen Philharmonic Orchestra. ...

since 1998.Le Spectacle du monde -2004 Issues 504-507 "Figure de proue des musiciens français, Laurence Equilbey a hissé le chœur de chambre Accentus dans la cour des grands. Aujourd'hui, Accentus, en résidence à l'opéra de Rouen depuis 1998, donne ..." When in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, the choir usually holds concerts at the '' Théâtre des Arts'' or the recently reopened '' Chapelle Corneille''.

History

Founded in 1991, the ensemble received the support of the '' Fondation France Telecom'' in 1993. Performing mostly contemporary compositions, the choir has collaborated with conductor

Eric Ericson Eric Gustaf Ericson (26 October 1918 – 16 February 2013) was a Swedish choral conductor and influential choral teacher. Life and career He graduated from the Royal College of Music (''Kungl. Musikhögskolan'') in Stockholm in 1943 and ...

since 1996, and has been in '' résidence'' at the Rouen Opera House since 1998. Following the world success of

Pascal Dusapin Pascal Georges Dusapin (born 29 May 1955) is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy. A pupil of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni and an admirer of Varèse, Dusapin studied at the University of Pari ...

's creations ''Granum sinapis'' (1998) and ''Dona eis'' (1998) and the French creation ''

Outis Outis (a transliteration of the Ancient Greek pronoun , meaning " nobody" or "no one"). is an often used pseudonym that appeared famously in Classical Greek legends. Modern artists, writers, and others in public life have adopted the use of this p ...

'' (1999) by

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

, Accentus went on a world tour accompanied by the Ensemble InterContemporain founded by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

, which took them to different countries including the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Repertoire

Founded by

, the choir is made up of 32 singers, all professionals. The scope of the ensemble ranges from the 17th century compositions to contemporary creations. The choir also accompanies large

symphonic orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

s, under the direction of

, Jonathan Nott and

Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born on 20 February 1940 in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) as Christoph Ringmann. His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross), a ...

, as well as the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...

, the Ensemble InterContemporain and the Rouen Philharmonic Orchestra. The ensemble also takes part in lyrical concerts.

Discography

* 1994 : Poulenc,

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

- Chœurs profanes / Secular Choral Works * 1997 : Poulenc * 1998 :

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

- Psalms & Motets - Hora Est * 1998 :

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

* 2000 : Antigona (Decca) * 2000 : North * 2000 :

- Requiem(s) * 2001 :

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

- Chœurs profanes * 2001 : Poulenc - ''

Figure humaine ''Figure humaine'' (''Human Figure''), FP (catalogue), FP 120, by Francis Poulenc is a cantata for double mixed choir of 12 voices composed in 1943 on texts by Paul Éluard including "Liberté (poem), 'Liberté". Written during the Nazi occupation ...

'' * 2002 : Suomi * 2003 : Transcriptions * 2004 :

- Ein Deutsches Requiem * 2005 :

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

- Mass * 2005 : Schoenberg * 2006 :

- A Capella choruses * 2006 :

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

- Seven Last Words * 2006 : Transcriptions 2 * 2006 : Un soir de neige * 2007 :

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

Via crucis The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

* 2008 : Dvorak - Stabat Mater * 2008 : Faure - Requiem * 2009 :

Strauss Strauss, Strauß, or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is usually spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" most com ...

- A cappella * 2010 : Nuit sacrée: 1. Canon in D major – Johann Pachelbel; 2. Choral ‘Jesus bleibet meine Freude’ - J. S. Bach; 3. Jauchzet, frohlocket! – J. S. Bach; 4. Ave Maria – Charles Gounod / J. S. Bach; 5. Alleluia – Dietrich Buxtehude; 6. For unto us a child is born (Messiah) – G. F. Handel; 7. Alleluia (Messiah) – G. F. Handel; 8. Benedictus (Oratorio de Noël) – Camille Saint-Saëns; 9. Panis Angelicus, César Franck; 10. Alleluia (Exsultate, jubilate) – W. A. Mozart; 11. Farandole (L’Arlésienne) – Georges Bizet; 12. Minuit, chrétiens! – Adolphe Adam; 13. Trois anges sont venus ce soir – Agusta Holmès; 14. Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! – F. X Gruber. * 2010 :

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

- Liturgie de saint Jean Chryostome - Vêpres * 2011 :

- Christus * 2011 :

Philippe Manoury Philippe Manoury (born 19 June 1952) is a French composer. Biography Manoury was born in Tulle and began composition studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with Gérard Condé and Max Deutsch. He continued his studies from 1974 to 1 ...

- Inharmonies * 2013 :

- Ein Deutsches Requiem (Réédition) * 2013 : Janacek - Brumes d'enfance * 2014 :

- Requiem * 2015 :

Félicien David Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer. Biography Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverish ...

- Le Désert

Musicians

The group has worked with musicians such as vocalist

Sandrine Piau Sandrine Piau (born 5 June 1965) is a French soprano. She is particularly renowned in Baroque music although also excels in Romantic and modernist art songs. She has the versatility to perform works from Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart to Schumann, Deb ...

, Bertrand Bontoux, and vocalist Kaoli Isshiki. It has also collaborated with conductors Georgia Spiropoulos and Denis Comtet.

Awards and nominations

Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance The Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance has been awarded since 1961. There have been several minor changes to the name of the award over this time: *In 1961 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Choral (including oratorio) *Fr ...

(nominated 2004, 2006)

References

External links

homepage
{{Authority control Choir, Chamber choir Musical groups from Normandy