Accentus

accentus is a reference in the world of vocal music. The chamber choir, founded by Laurence Equilbey over twenty six years ago, is deeply committed to the acappella repertory, original contemporary music, oratorio and opera. accentus performs in leading French and international concert venues and festivals, including the Salzburg Mozart Week, the London Barbican, the Essen Philharmonia, the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence, the Royal Opera and Royal Chapel in Versailles, Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, and the Lincoln Center in New York. accentus enjoys a close partnership with the Philharmonie de Paris and is returning as resident choir to the Opéra de Rouen Normandie, where it will be performing a concert and operatic programme. Christophe Grapperon has been associate main conductor of the ensemble since 2013.

• The chamber choir accentus

  The choir regularly collaborates with prestigious conductors and orchestras: Pierre Boulez, Anders Nilsson, Eric Ericson, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Simon Rattle, Orchestre de Paris, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Concerto Köln, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker… It participates in a variety of operatic productions: Pascal Dusapin’s Perelà, Uomo di fumo and Matthias Pintscher’s L’Espace dernier at the Paris Opera, the creation of Ondrej Adámek’s Seven Stones at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Reynaldo Hahn’s Ciboulette and Charles Gounod’s Bloody Nun at Opéra Comique... accentus takes part in ambitious scenic productions with Insula orchestra, notably Haydn’s Creation with La Fura dels Baus, and Der Freischütz with the Cie of new magic 14:20.
  
  All accentus’ recordings have received wide critical acclaim. The CD “Transcriptions” (with sales of over 130,000) was a 2004 Grammy Award nominee in addition to receiving a Disque d’or in 2008. accentus has released four discs with Insula orchestra : Mozart’s Requiem (naïve, 2014), Gluck’s Orfeo and Euridice (Deutsche Grammophon, 2015), Mozart’s Coronation Mass (Warner Classics – Erato, 2017) and Lieder of Schubert (Warner Classics – Erato, 2017). The choir also released with Orchestre de chambre de Paris the first world record of Gounod’s Saint François d’Assise (naïve, 2018). In order to celebrate the 250 years of Beethoven, accentus and Insula orchestra record the Choral Fantasy (Warner Classics – Erato). accentus won the Ensemble of the Year award in the classical section of France’s prestigious Victoiresdelamusique in 2002, 2005 and 2008.
  
  In 2017, accentus inaugurated a Paris-based resources centre with physical media and digital content, designed to promote choral art and share the working documents and expertise gathered since the choir’s foundation.
  
  accentus receives aid from the Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles d’Île-de-France of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, is subsidised by the City of Paris and the Île-de-France Region, and also receives support from SACEM. accentus is in residence at the Opéra de Rouen Normandie. Concerts and cultural activities in the Department receive the support of the Départemental des Hauts-de-Seine. The Fondation Bettencourt Schueller supports accentus. accio, the circle of friends of accentus and Insula orchestra, supports the arts initiatives set in motion by Laurence Equilbey.