Les Passions
Encyclopedia
Les Passions is a Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 Orchestra. Created in 1986 by the recorder player Jean-Marc Andrieu, the orchestra Les Passions is in residence in the south-west French town of Montauban
Montauban
Montauban is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse....

. This flexible ensemble specialises in the practice of period instruments. Its artistic approach reconciles two principles: a respect for the musical technique of the period (authentic performance) and a dynamic interpretation of the musical composition. Its vocation is to convince the public that ancient music is as relevant to the present as are the writings of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...

, the paintings of La Tour
La Tour
-France:Several communes in France:* La Tour, Alpes-Maritimes, in the Alpes-Maritimes département* La Tour, Haute-Savoie, in the Haute-Savoie département* La Tour-Blanche, in the Dordogne département* La Tour-d'Aigues, in the Vaucluse département...

 or the architecture of Mansart
Mansart
Mansart may refer to:*François Mansart , French architect*Jules Hardouin Mansart , French architect, his grandnephew...

.

Its repertoire extends from the beginning of the 17th century (Monteverdi’s Vêpres à la Vierge) to the end of the 18th century (Mozart’s Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...

) encompassing a large number of the masters of the Baroque era (Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...

, Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....

, Telemann, Scarlatti
Scarlatti
Scarlatti was the name of several Italian composers:*Alessandro Scarlatti , Baroque composer known for operas and chamber cantatas*Francesco Scarlatti , Baroque composer and musician, brother of Alessandro Scarlatti...

, Vivaldi, Purcell
Purcell
Henry Purcell was an English composer.Purcell may also refer to:*Purcell, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Johnson Township, Knox County, Indiana*Purcell, Missouri, a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States...

, Charpentier
Charpentier
Charpentier is the French word for carpenter and a French surname. A variant spelling is Carpentier. In English the name is spelled Carpenter while in German it is Zimmermann....

…). The orchestra is also dedicated to rediscovering the legacy of French music by producing the opera Stratonice by Méhul, Daphnis et Alcimadure by Mondonville, and works by Toulouse composers Dupuy, Levens, and Jean Gilles. The orchestra also contributes to the restitution of the musical library of the Dukes of Aiguillon.

Formally The Baroque Orchestra of Montauban, at the end of 2003 Jean-Marc Andrieu renamed the orchestra "Les Passions" in reference to a musical form and to the philosophical and literary subject very much discussed in the 17th and 18th centuries that influenced lyrical composers during the Baroque and Classical periods.

Residence and support

Les Passions currently resides at the Conservatory of Music of Montauban, France. The orchestra receives support from the city of Montauban, the Midi-Pyrenees Region, and the city of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

. It is also registered with the Ministry of Culture and Communication. The orchestra is recorded and distributed by Ligia Digital and Harmonia Mundi.

Discography

  • Cantem Nadal - Noël Baroque Occitan, 2009
  • Requiem. Jean Gilles, 2008
  • Vêpres Vénitiennes. Porpora, Vivaldi, 2007
  • Con voce Festiva. Scarlatti, 2005
  • La Passion selon Saint-Matthieu. J.-S. Bach, 2000
  • Leclair, Telemann, Vivaldi, Purcell, 1993
  • Disque Te Deum de Levens, 2008

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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