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It was in 1987 that the "Centre de Chant Choral de la Communauté française de Belgique" (Centre for choral singing of the Belgian French-speaking community) founded the Choeur de Chambre de Namur (= CCN; Namur Chamber Choir, the community's official vocal ensemble).
This flexibly-sized ensemble comprises between 12 and 32 singers, working under direction of Jean Tubéry and of such renowned guest conductors as Eric Ericson, Erik Van Nevel, Louis Devos, Marc Minkowski, Timothy Brown, Kenneth Montgomery, Pierre Cao (principal conductor from 1992 to 1995), Simon Halsey, Sigiswald Kuijken, Peter Phillips, Pierre Bartholomée, Roy Goodman, Michael Schneider, Philippe Pierlot, Philippe Herreweghe, and Jordi Savall.
Right from the begining of its career, the Choeur de Chambre de Namur has performed the major works in the choral repertoire (the oratorios of George Frideric Handel, J.S. Bach's B minor Mass (BWV 232), motets and passions of J.S. Bach, the Requiems of W.A. Mozart and Gabriel Fauré, as well as contemporary works) and appeared at well-known festivals, among them abbey of Escaldieu (Pyrénées), the Versailles Festival of Baroque Music, the Festival d'été in Paris, the Arles Festival of Sacred Music, the Walloon and Flanders festivals, the Ars Musica Festival in Brussels, the Concerts Sinfonico-corals of Lerida, and the Ambronay Festival.
The choir has also recorded some 15 CD's for the Ricercar, Erato, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Virgin, Cyprès and Astrée-Auvidis labels. All these recordings have been acclaimed by the musical press, receiving nominations for the Victoires de la Musique Classique in Paris, and such awards as the 'Choc du Monde de la Musique', Diapason d'Or, and Joker de Crescendo'. The Choeur de Chambre de Namur has appeared with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Orchestre National de Lille, Royal Flanders Philharmonic Orchestra, Concerto Armonico Budapest, Ricercar Consort, La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy, La Petite Bande, Amsterdam Bach Soloists, Ensemble La Fenice, La Stagione Frankfurt and Les Agrémens. Plans for future seasons include collaborations with Jean-Claude Malgoire, Patrick Davin, Guy Van Waas, Peter Phillips, Paul Dombrecht and Jean Tubéry, among others.
The Choeur de Chambre de Namur receives assistance from La Communauté française de Belgique, Direction Générale de la Culture, Secteur de la Musique, and support from la Loterie Nationale and from La Ville and La Province de Namur.
Since 2010, Leonardo García-Alarcón is Artistic Director of the Chœur de Chambre de Namur. |
