Anna Besson / Olga Pashchenko VARIATIONS ON FOLK SONGS

 

VARIATIONS ON FOLK SONGS

 

Nevermind CONVERSATIONS

Nevermind is made up of four young musicians and friends whose passion for early music and for the influence of jazz and traditional music stimulated them to form an ensemble whose virtuosity is equalled only by their youthful impetuosity and their love of fine music . . . For its first disc, Nevermind tackles the treasures of the Baroque in the shape of two totally neglected French composers.

The first one, Jean-Baptiste Quentin, a dessus de violon at the Académie Royale de Musique (forerunner of the Paris Opéra), was a habitué of the Parisian salons, where he frequented Rameau among others. The second, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, studied in Italy before joining the court musicians at Versailles. Sometimes whimsical and often very complex in Guillemain, invariably lucid and classical in Quentin, their style nonetheless presents a common feature: the dominance of the Italian idiom.

Alpha Classics continues its discovery of young talents with this project conceived by the inspired musicians of Nevermind. Their credo is to introduce the widest possible audience to the riches of music that has been too long ignored.

A Nocte Temporis / Reinoud Van Mechelen CLÉRAMBAULT Cantates Françaises

“A nocte temporis”: Latin translation of the French expression “depuis la nuit des temps”, which means “from time immemorial”. A nod towards the past, towards what is changing, and especially also towards what remains unchanged.

After several years of activity as a soloist with conductors such as William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Hervé Niquet, Christophe Rousset, and many others, Reinoud Van Mechelen founds his own ensemble in 2016. His goal is to present historically informed music as well as to emotionally touch an as large audience as possible. For this purpose he surrounds himself with musicians who share this passion with him and who are ready to take up this challenge.

Reinoud Van Mechelen / A Nocte Temporis BACH Erbarme Dich

Since he completed his master studies in 2012 at the Conservatoire Royal in Brussels (class of Dina Grossberger), Reinoud Van Mechelen has established himself on the international stage. 

In 2007 he caught attention at the Académie Baroque Européenne in Ambronay under the baton of Hervé Niquet. In 2011 he was a member of the "Jardin des Voix" of William Christie and Paul Agnew and became soon a regular soloist of Les Arts florissants. With Les Arts florissants he has performed at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the Edinburgh Festival, the Château de Versailles, the Bolchoï Theatre in Moscow, the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican Centre in London, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Philharmonie in Paris, the Opéra Comique and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. 

At the same time he is a guest with international ensembles such as Collegium Vocale, Le Concert Spirituel, La Petite Bande, Les Talens Lyriques, Pygmalion, Le Poème Harmonique, Il Gardellino, Insula Orchestra, L’Arpeggiata, Ludus Modalis, B’Rock, Ricercar Consort, Capriccio Stravagante, Scherzi Musicali, European Union Baroque Orchestra. 

 In 2014 Reinoud Van Mechelen performed his first Evangelist in J.S. Bach's Johannes passion with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The season after he made his debut in a title role in an opera by Rameau, Dardanus, at the Opéra national de Bordeaux. 

In 2016/17 he will be debuting at the Zürich Opera in Charpentier's Médée(Jason) under the baton of William Christie. He will go a significant way ahead in extending his repertoire performing in concert Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and Gérald (Lakmé) with the Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio.