Le Concert Spirituel
Since 1987, Hervé Niquet has been adding new chapters to the great story of Le Concert Spirituel, which will celebrate its 300th anniversary in 2025.
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1987 - birth of Le Concert Spirituel
Le Concert Spirituel, the name taken from the first French private concert society founded in the 18th century, has established itself on the national and international stages as one of France's finest ensembles. Since it was founded in 1987 by Hervé Niquet, Le Concert Spirituel has embarked on ambitious and original projects, specialising in the performance of French sacred music, while at the same time rediscovering a lyrical heritage that has unjustly fallen into oblivion (Grétry's Andromaque - 'Grand Prix du Disque' from the Académie Charles Cros 2010, Destouches' Callirhoé, Lully's Proserpine, Marais' Sémélé - ECHO Klassik Awards 2009, Campra's Le Carnaval de Venise - German Record Critics' Award 2011, Mozart's Les Mystères d'Isis, Rameau's Les Fêtes de l'Hymen et de l'Amour and Lully's 1770 version of Persée).
Artistic encounters
These musical adventures are an opportunity for original encounters with directors such as Karole Armitage, Georges Lavaudant, Joachim Schloemer, Patrice Thibaud, Christian Schiaretti (Castor et Pollux by Rameau), Julien Lubek and Cécile Roussat (The Magic Flute by Mozart, in French), Corinne et Gilles Benizio - alias Shirley and Dino (Purcell's King Arthur, Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse de Boismortier and Rameau's Platée), Vincent Tavernier (Les Amants magnifiques and Le Malade imaginaire by Molière, Lully and Charpentier), Marshall Pynkoski (Richard Coeur de Lion - Richard the Lionheart by Grétry and La Caravane du Caire by the same composer).
Tours in France and abroad
Taking its orchestra and choir from Paris (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre du Châtelet, Philharmonie de Paris) to the Château de Versailles, from the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels to the LG Arts Center in Seoul, from London's Royal Albert Hall to Tokyo's Opera House, Le Concert Spirituel shows all audiences, through original and atypical productions, that baroque music knows how to surprise and fascinate. Le Concert Spirituel's international dynamism has enabled it to do much to promote French excellence at high-profile events such as the Shanghai World Expo, Istanbul European Capital of Culture at the Topkapi Palace, and the BBC Proms in London during Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. With Handel's Music for the Fireworks & Watermusic (the recording of which won an Edison Award), Le Concert Spirituel has already brought together more than 100,000 spectators in different pyrotechnic versions and concerts in unusual locations, such as the Retiro Park in Madrid, the Barlin mining site (Nord-Pas-de-Calais), the Bassin de Neptune at the Château de Versailles and the Château de Chambord.
Depuis 38 ans, Le Concert Spirituel propose concerts et opéras (scénique et version concert), aux effectifs variés, en France et à l'étranger.
1725-2025 - the 300th anniversary of the original Concert Spirituel
The key words of the Concert Spirituel: innovation, large numbers, creation and experimental laboratory.
This season, faithful to the French repertoire, Le Concert Spirituel will offer a historically informed version of Lully's Persée (1682) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, which will close in early 2025 a beautiful series of baroque lyrical tragedies in co-production with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
It will also celebrate Fauré on the occasion of the centenary of his death: after the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and the Vichy Opera in the summer, the Requiem will be presented at the Ravel Festival in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, at the church of St James's Spanish Place in London (Wigmore Hall programme), at the Cité de la Musique et de la danse in Soissons and at the Massy Opera. The comedy-ballet Le Mariage forcé by Molière and Lully will be reborn at the Théâtre de Meaux and the Massy Opera. Then it will be time for European music, with five stage performances of Mozart's The Magic Flute in French, directed by Cécile Roussat and Julien Lubek, which will light up the Royal Opera of Versailles for the end-of-year celebrations, a Mozart whose early works ( Messes brèves and Ave verum ) will also resound at the Arsenal in Metz.
Handel will be in the spotlight throughout the season, with the Dettingen Te Deum and Coronation Anthems at Marcq-en-Baroeul, co-production Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing and at the Auditorium de Lyon; Messiah at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in the series Les Grandes Voix; and Israel in Egypt at the Handel Festspiele in Halle.
An Italian focus will lead Vivaldi's Gloria to the Toulon Music Festival and Striggio's Mass for 40 solo voices to the Théâtre impérial de Compiègne and the Tage Alter Musik in Regensburg, as well as to various summer festivals.
Finally, don't miss the creation Pâté en croûte et vieux ragots, Sinfonies pour le Souper du Roy , a creation on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the historic Concert Spirituel, with the support of the AG2R La Mondiale Foundation for artistic vitality.
An anniversary season full of events!
Professional integration and cultural initiatives
Au-delà des concerts, Hervé Niquet et Le Concert Spirituel s’impliquent également dans des actions de transmission auprès de jeunes musiciens en formation grâce à son partenariat avec le CRR de Paris et le Pôle Supérieur d’Enseignement artistique Paris - Boulogne-Billancourt. L’ensemble accueille ainsi 1 à 3 fois par saison, des jeunes instrumentistes ou chanteurs, sélectionnés sur audition, au sein de ses productions. Cette saison, la productionMédéede Charpentier fut l’occasion de concrétiser ce partenariat.
Une place importante est accordée également à la transmission de leur passion à un public plus large. Ainsi, en 2024/25, Le Concert Spirituel poursuit sa mission de médiation culturelle, tant auprès des enfants hospitalisés à l’Hôpital Necker-Enfants malades (AP-HP), qu’auprès des publics éloignés de la musique, que ce soit en partenariat avec l’Opéra de Massy, dans le cadre du programme « L’Art pour grandir » dans les établissements scolaires de la Ville de Paris, ou en régions via l’ouverture de certaines répétitions, des rencontres, et des ateliers scolaires pensés sur-mesure.
Record production
Since June 2015, Le Concert Spirituel has been recording with Alpha Classics. Already released are the CDs bringing together Vivaldi's Gloria & Magnificat , Cherubini and Plantade's Requiem , Lully's Persée (1770 version), Handel's Messiah (1754), Benevolo 's Missa Si Deus pro nobis ,
"The Opera of Operas", Berlioz's Messe solennelle (Opera Magazine Diamond and German Record Critics' Prize) and Armide 1778 by Lully and Francœur.
The discography of the Concert Spirituel will be enriched this year by a recording of Persée by Lully (1682) for Alpha Classics, to be released in 2027, and by the publication of two new albums: Iphigénie en Tauride by Desmarets and Campra, and Requiem by Fauré, also with Alpha Classics.
The ensemble Le Concert Spirituel is in residence at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées as part of the "crossed residencies" program set up throughout France by the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. This residency will be an opportunity to recreate and record operas by Marais, Charpentier, Campra and Lully between 2022 and 2025.
The Concert Spirituel is an ensemble associated with the Massy Opera.
The Concert Spirituel is subsidized by the Ministry of Culture (DRAC Ile-de-France) and the City of Paris.
He thanks the patrons of his Endowment Fund, companies and individual patrons.
The Concert Spirituel is the 2020 winner of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for choral singing.
The Concert Spirituel benefits from the support of its Grand Patron: the Bru Foundation.
Discover the years 2023 and 2022 of the Concert Spirituel in figures and images
>> Activity report 2023
>> 2022 Activity Report
