In 2012, Laurence Equilbey founded with the Conseil général des Hauts-de-Seine the Insula orchestra, an ensemble of musicians with period instruments which repertoire ranges from classicism to romanticism.
Laurence Equilbey is the founder and music director of accentus, a professional chamber choir very active in the a cappella repertoire as well as in contemporary creation, oratorio and opera. Since 2009, she is, with this ensemble, an associated artist at the Orchestre de chambre de Paris. They both regularly collaborate with prestigious conductors and orchestras and participate to numerous creations of operas.

Both ensembles, under Laurence Equilbey’s baton, released a record in September 2014 on Mozart’s Requiem with the label naïve.

The Coronation Mass, composed in 1779 bu W. A. Mozart when he was only twenty-three, was a commission from the Salzburg archbishop Hieronymus von Colloredo-Mannsfeld. This mass obtained its nickname in the 19th century because it was the favourite work of the Vienna imperial court for royal and imperial coronations.

It is said that Mozart’s Coronation Mass was performed during the enthronement of Francis II in 1792, but it is quite unlikely. What is sure, is that this latter commissioned King Stephen to Ludwig van Beethoven, a piece that refers to King Stephen I, the founder of the Hungarian kingdom. It was composed for the inauguration of the large theater of Pest that Austria built in Hungary to thank the country for its loyalty.

Finally, the concert ends with Carl-Maria von Weber's cantata Kampf und Sieg (Battle and Victory), which celebrates the battle of Waterloo. The composer exposes themes like faith, hope and charity with the violence of war. After a military call and some marches, the French revolutionary Ça ira indicates the withdrawal of the Prussian troups on the first day and ends this series of excerpts.

erda | 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 Haute-Normandie. Concerts and cultural activities in the Department receive the support of Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine. The cercle des mécènes d’accentus specifically supports the ensemble’s artistic development.

Insula orchestra receives support from Hauts-de-Seine General Council and is in residence at Carré Belle-Feuille at Boulogne-Billancourt. Mécénat Musical Société Général is the principal patron of Insula orchestra.

Coproduction la Cité de la musique and Insula orchestra.

Picture: © Jana Jocif.