Mozart: Krönungsmesse - Vesperae solennes de confessore

1. Mozart: Mass No. 15 in C Major, K. 317, "Coronation": I. Kyrie
2. Mozart: Mass No. 15 in C Major, K. 317, "Coronation": II. Gloria
3. Mozart: Mass No. 15 in C Major, K. 317, "Coronation": III. Credo
4. Mozart: Mass No. 15 in C Major, K. 317, "Coronation": IV. Sanctus
5. Mozart: Mass No. 15 in C Major, K. 317, "Coronation": V. Benedictus
6. Mozart: Mass No. 15 in C Major, K. 317, "Coronation": VI. Agnus Dei
7. Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: I. Dixit Dominus
8. Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: II. Confitebor
9. Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: III. Beatus vir
10. Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: IV. Laudate pueri
11. Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: V. Laudate Dominum
12. Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: V. Magnificat

The all-Mozart Erato debut, in April 2017, of French conductor Laurence Equilbey and two ensembles she founded, the Accentus choir and the Insula Orchestra, is linked with the inauguration of a magnificent new performance venue: La Seine musicale, which occupies an island in the River Seine just outside Paris.

Equilbey and her aptly-named Insula Orchestra will be resident artists at La Seine musicale, and their opening weekend of concerts (22/23 April) offers a ‘surprise programme’ of music by Beethoven, Berlioz, Weber and Mozart. Mozart is central to the programming of the Insula Orchestra, which plays on period instruments and has been in existence since 2012. The ensemble has acquired a reputation in France and internationally, having visited cities such as Vienna, Salzburg, Basel and London, where The Times praised Equilbey for the “verve and delicacy” of her conducting and the Financial Times concluded that “Laurence Equilbey’s ensemble … showcases the best in period-instrument performance.”

Mozart holds a special place in Equilbey’s heart. One of the reasons for this is the crucial period she spent as a student in Vienna, though she also trained in Paris and London. In the Austrian capital her mentors included Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Claudio Abbado, and during her time there – with Harnoncourt as her conductor – she sang in both the Mozart works featured on this debut CD, the Vesperae solennes de confessore (Solemn Vespers) and Krönungsmesse (Coronation Mass). As she explained in an interview: “These two works are both in the Viennese ‘church trio’ style, without violas, they’re close to each other in time, and the sonority of the instrumentation is exactly the same.” It was Equilbey’s experience of choral singing in Vienna that motivated her to found the Accentus choir in France in 2002. Joining its singers on this CD are four soloists: French soprano Sandrine Piau (who also appears during in the opening weekend at La Seine musicale), Croatian mezzo soprano Renata Pokupić, German tenor Benjamin Bruns and, also from Germany, bass Andreas Wolf. When Equilbey led a performance of the Solemn Vespers at the French festival of La Chaise-Dieu in 2015, Early Music Review wrote: “Equilbey is that rare beast, a born Mozartian. Absence of mannerism, beautifully judged tempos and balance in both chorus and orchestra, allied to fine playing and choral singing and a fine line-up of soloists … as satisfying a performance of the work as one is likely to encounter.”

La Seine musicale offers spectacular architecture by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines and the Insula Orchestra’s home will be its 1100-seat, wood-lined concert hall; it occupies the elegant egg-shaped structure that crowns the building, which also houses a much larger venue for pop and rock concerts and musicals. The new venue has a vision of ‘music for everybody’ and Equilbey is looking forward to attracting young people with special 20-minute ‘flash’ concerts and collaborations with visual artists – and through digital media. One of Erato’s most renowned artists, Philippe Jaroussky, will also host an ‘academy’ for talented children and young adults who are hoping to make a career in music.

Equilbey, who also works with other leading period-instrument ensembles and with modern orchestras, recruited the members of the Insula Orchestra from all over Europe. Many of them joined straight from the conservatory, so it is a youthful, vibrant ensemble. With these players, she looks forward to fulfilling her dream of conducting more of the Classical and early Romantic symphonic repertoire. “With your own orchestra you can rehearse as you wish,” she says. “You have time to think about the musicological and historical aspects and to work on them … I have always had lots of ideas and now that I have a free hand in planning for a concert hall, new possibilities are open to me.”