For engagements after June 2012 please contact Sophie Lanoote at Galatea
http://www.galatea-music.com/
Galatea | 17, rue Gabriel Péri | 92300 Levallois-Perret | France
Tel +33 (0)9 54 58 69 95 | Fax +33 (0)9 59 58 69 95
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Ensemble Clément Janequin, direction Dominique VisseCreated in Paris in 1978, the Ensemble Clément Janequin performs sacred and secular vocal music of the Renaissance, from Josquin to Monteverdi. Their inimitable performances of the 16th Century French chanson have revealed what is now appreciated to be one of the Golden Ages in the history of French music, their recordings for harmonia mundi, Les cris de Paris, Le chant des oyseaulx, Fricassée parisienne and La chasse being considered as benchmark interpretations. With tremendous appeal to a broad audience, these works by Janequin, Sermizy, Lassus, Lejeune and numerous others abound in the stylistic contrasts so dear to the Renaissance: the touching lyricism of the chanson amoureuse, the earthy humour of the chanson rustique that draws upon popular farce, the sounds of war, nature and street cries - a unique marriage of popular and high Renaissance culture.
The Ensemble Clément Janequin has performed extensively throughout the world, often with the support of Culturesfrance, formerly the AFAA. They have performed in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Cité de la musique in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the York and Boston Early Music Festivals, the Styrarte Festival in Graz, and in 2007 were 'ensemble in residence' in the 'Laus Polyphoniae’ in Antwerp, one of the world's leading early music festivals. The ensemble has also recently toured Spain, Belgium, Canada and the United States, and performed in the 2009 Cervantino Festival in Mexico. It is a regular visitor to Japan as well as the Innsbruck Early Music Festival. In December 2008, the Ensemble Clément Janequin celebrated its 30th aniversary at the Théâtre des Abbesses in Paris.
The Ensemble also performs contemporary music and now proposes programmes ranging from Renaissance music to contemporary music, such "L'Ecrit du Cri" at the Phénix theatre in Valenciennes on the theme of street cries, or the Philippe Manoury's 'Missa Obscura' commissioned by the Automne en Normandie Festival. Dominique Visse is preparing a new programme on the theme of animals to be performed in the Radio France series in December 2010.
In 2010 the ensemble takes part in a conference on their eponymous composer, Clément Janequin, with concerts at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and in Janequin's native town, Châtellerault. Their other 2010 performances include the Wigmore Hall in London, the Tarentaise Festival, ‘Laus Polyphoniae’ in Antwerp, the Académie Francis Poulenc in Tours and in the Festival d’île de France.
The Ensemble’s recordings of sacred music include Mass & Motets by Claude Le Jeune, Psaumes de la Réforme celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Edit de Nantes in 1598, and the astonishing 12 part mass Et ecce terrae motus by Antoine Brumel, which was disc of the month in Gramophone. Their more recent secular music recordings, Canciones y Ensaladas, Une Fête chez Rabelais, Les plaisirs du palais and Autant en emporte le vent (Claude Lejeune) have all won numerous prizes around the world, the Canciones y Ensaladas winning the Gramophone Award in 1998. ‘L’Écrit du Cri’, a programme of pieces inspired by street cries from the Renaissance to the present day, and initiated by the Phénix theatre in Valenciennes, was released in June 2009.
The Ensemble Clément Janequin has recently taken part in a recording entitled ‘Fay ce que vouldras’ with the Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse, to be released at the end of 2010 on the Flora label.
July 2010
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Presse reviewsWashington Post
'The Ensemble Clément Janequin... gave a vivid performance of its namesake's music… in the Library of Congress... with singing that was sometimes sweet and smoothly blended, often raucous, frequently very funny and always virtuosic… Early music flourishes in Washington, but the city seldom hears a concert like this one.' Joseph McLellen, 23rd Feb 1998
Los Angeles Times
'The Paris-based Ensemble Clément Janequin performed a generous sampling of this music with astonishing virtuosity. The perfection of the musicians' cohesion, intonation and balance, as well as the vim of their rapid-fire delivery, made them a joy to listen to.' Timothy Mangan, 16th Feb 1998
Gramophone, London
'…the overall blend is superb, and the rich, translucent sonority achieved is utterly compelling… the level of vocal energy and focus is always spot on, all of which is especially noticeable in the ensaladas. Herethe interpretation is just right: theatrical and colourful, often funny, but never camp or ludicrously over the top, all this stemming, I am sure, from Visse's own instinctive and secure sense of the theatrical.' Tess Knighton, April 1998 (CD Canciones y Ensaladas HMC 901627)
'Nowhere has the Ensemble been more successful than in the Parisian chanson. I first got to know this repertory when the group's earliest LPs were being issued, and I've heard enough of the other recordings to realise that something very exciting was going on. That was over 15 years ago, and now it seems hard to imagine Sermizy or Janequin without the Ensemble Clément Janequin.' Fabrice Fitch, April 1998 (Interview with Dominique Visse)
San Diego Reader
'The Janequin singer pay extraordinary attention to the expressive possibilities inherent in Renaissance polyphony; they phrase with great subtlety; their word-painting provides constant variety of tone; they shape the music beautifully; and they use every device of articulation, color, and shading to convey a broad range of emotional states.' Jonathan Saville, 9th April 1998
The Independent, London
'The impact was strengthened by the spare-no-prisoners, diamond-edged tone of Dominique Visse... the Ensemble Clément Janequin, secure in pitch and ensemble, full of character and alive to the bizarre humour and theatricality of songs that mimic everything from barking dogs and duff singers to crowing Frenchmen and cowardly Spaniards.' Andrew Stewart, 30th November 1996
Early Music Magazine, London
'The Ensemble Clément Janequin offer us an astonishing amount of musical variety and remarkable breadth of emotion. Their performance is a revelation.'
Early Music News, London
'Would that each country had its ensemble to promote their indigenous song repertoires with such style as the French. This concert, devoted to Lassus and Josquin, was both packed and uplifting, to the extent of the English rising to their feet in applause.' Richard Langhamn Smith, June 1994
The Financial Times, London
'Their singing is extrovert and exuberant. The onomatopoeic effects of Le Chant des Oyseaulx, La Chasse and La Bataille were superbly and virtuosically realised. Altogether a delectable recital.'
Mainichi Shinbun, Tokyo
'The encore, La Chasse, was the high point of the concert during which the audience's exultation became inevitable.'
Kleine Zeitung, Graz
'... The Super Event ...the diversity of the singers’ powers of expression was astounding and the blending of the voices in the etheral pianissimos fascinating.'
Tiroler Tageszeitung, Innsbruck
'Punk anno 1550' Rainer Gstrein, 3rd September 1995
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Programmes 2011-2012See French page via this link
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Secular music repertoireSee French page via this link
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Sacred music repertoireSee French page via this link
