Les Arts Florissants

Founded in Caen, France in 1979 by harpsichordist and conductor William Christie, Les Arts Florissants has established itself through recordings and performances as one of the most important baroque music ensembles of its time. Based at the Théâtre de Caen, the ensemble takes its name from the opera composed in 1685 by Marc-Antoine Charpenter and specializes in the interpreting 18th century works on period instruments.  Founder William Christie was born December 19, 1944 in Buffalo, New York. He attended Yale University in 1966, where he studied harpsichord under Ralph Kirkpatrick. In 1970, in protest of the Vietnam War, he moved to France. He became known for interpreting baroque music as well as contemporary baroque with the Ensemble Five Centuries. He then formed Les Arts Florissants in ’79. Comprised of instrumental and vocal formations, Les Arts Florissants has, over time, included renowned musicians and singers including Monique Zanetti, Sophie Daneman, Sandrine Piau, Guillemette Laurens, Agnès Mellon, Mark Padmore, Dominique Visse, Jean-Paul Fauchécourt, Véronique Gens, Natalie Dessay, Laurent Naouri, Patricia Petibon, Ian Bostridge or Sophie Karthäuser. Les Arts Florissants has released over a hundred recordings of sacred music or operas, including works by Charpentier, Rameau, Lully, Monteverdi, Purcell, Handel, Mozart, and lesser-known composers such as Luigi Rossi , André Campra, Montéclair, Clérambault, Delalande, Mondonville or Landi. In 2004, the choir received the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for choral singing, awarded in partnership with the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The year 2013 saw the creation of the Les Arts Florissants label, after a long collaboration with the Harmonia Mundi, Virgin Classics and Erato labels. Their large catalog of releases includes Madrigaux des VIIe et VIIIe livres (1981), The Fairy Queen (1989), Orfeo (1991), Petits Motets (1997), Mozart: Great Mass in C minor K. 427 (1999), and their 40th Anniversary release Les Arts Florissants: 40 Ans.