Agnès Mellon (born 17 January 1958) is a French

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

who specializes in

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

Biography

Agnès Mellon started her career in 1981 with the baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants, directed by William Christie, with whom, between 1981 and 1993, she interpreted

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considere ...

Luigi Rossi Luigi Rossi (c. 1597 – 20 February 1653) was an Italian Baroque composer. Born in Torremaggiore, a small town near Foggia, in the ancient kingdom of Naples, at an early age he went to Naples where he studied music with the Franco-Flemish comp ...

Michel Lambert Michel Lambert (1610 – 29 June 1696) was a French singer, theorbist, and composer. Career Lambert was born at Champigny-sur-Veude, France. He received his musical education as an altar boy at the Chapel of Gaston d'Orléans, a brother of kin ...

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

Michel Pignolet de Montéclair Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (4 December 1667 – 22 September 1737) was a French composer of the baroque period. He was born Michel Pignolet in Andelot, Haute-Marne, France, and only later added "Montéclair" (the name of a fortress in h ...

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...

and others. During the 1980s, she was one of the ensemble's regular singers, together with

Guillemette Laurens Guillemette Laurens (born 6 November 1957 in Fontainebleau, France) is a French operatic mezzo-soprano. Guillemette trained at the Academy of Toulouse and debuted as Baba in ''The Rake's Progress'' at Salle Favart. She took part in the premiere ...

, Jill Feldman,

Dominique Visse Dominique Visse (born 30 August 1955) is a French countertenor and founder of the Ensemble Clément Janequin. Life and career Dominique Visse was a chorister at the Notre-Dame de Paris and studied organ and flute at the Versailles Conservatory. A ...

Étienne Lestringant Étienne Lestringant is a contemporary French tenor specialising in the baroque repertoire. Biography Étienne Lestringant was one of the first members of the baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants convened by William Christie in Autumn 1979. ...

Michel Laplénie Michel Laplénie (born 1943) is a French tenor, and conductor of the baroque choral (founded 1986) and other ensembles. He was one of the founding members of both Ensemble Clément Janequin and Les Arts Florissants.International Record Review ...

Philippe Cantor Philippe Cantor is a contemporary French bass-baritone. Biography First of all, Cantor turned his attention towards the interpretation of ancient music by the ensembles Ensemble Clément Janequin, Huelgas Ensemble, and Ensemble Organum. His ...

Gregory Reinhart Gregory Reinhart (born June 18, 1951 in Pavilion, New York) is an American bass (vocal range), bass opera singer. He is noted for an extremely wide repertory which ranges from early music to the world premieres of several contemporary operas inc ...

, and François Fauché. Starting in 1985, Mellon also worked under the direction of

Philippe Herreweghe Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from ...

, with La Chapelle Royale (1985–1990) and the

Collegium Vocale Gent Collegium Vocale Gent is a Belgian musical ensemble of vocalists and supporting instrumentalists, founded by Philippe Herreweghe. The group specializes in historically informed performance. Founding and program Collegium Vocale Gent was founded ...

(1990–1996), interpreting Charpentier,

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque music, Baroque composer and organ (music), organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most important composers of ...

, Monteverdi, Jean Gilles, and

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. At the end of the 1980s, she worked regularly with the Belgian ensemble

Ricercar Consort The Ricercar Consort is a Belgian instrumental ensemble founded in 1980 together with the Ricercar record label of Jérôme Lejeune. The founding members were violinist François Fernandez, organist Bernard Foccroulle, and viola da gamba pla ...

, under the artistic direction of the Belgian musicologist . She also worked with various conductors, including

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his musi ...

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works. Minkowski was musical director of Mozartwoche in Salzburg, Austria, from 2013 to 2017 and was gene ...

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conducting, conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on Authentic performance, period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and ...

, and

Gérard Lesne Gérard Lesne (; born 15 July 1956) is a French countertenor. He is also the founder and artistic director of the baroque music ensemble, Il Seminario Musicale. Life and career Gérard Lesne was born in Montmorency, Val-d'Oise. He was originally ...

. Beginning in the 1990s, she dedicated herself to teaching. She also participates in master classes in (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

). In 1992, she gave an exceptional interpretation of

's songs, traditionally interpreted only by

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...

s such as

Alfred Deller Alfred George Deller, CBE (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularising the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th century. He is sometimes referr ...

and James Bowman. In 1997, she founded her own baroque ensemble, Barcarole, whose first recording was released in 2005. Mellon is married to

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Recordings

Mellon has made many recordings, most of them in the field of baroque music.

With Les Arts Florissants

* 1981 : ''Pastorale sur la Naissance de N.S. Jésus-Christ'' H.483'', In Nativitatem D.N.J.C. Canticum'' H.414, Marc-Antoine Charpentier * 1981 : ''Altri Canti'', Claudio Monteverdi *1982 : ''Antienne "O" de l'Avent'' H.37- 43,

*1982 : '' Les Arts Florissants'' H.487, Marc-Antoine Charpentier * 1982 : '' Actéon'' H.481, Marc-Antoine Charpentier * 1982 : ''Oratorios (Il pecator pentito, O Cecità del misero mortale)'',

* 1983 : ''Un Oratorio de Noël "In nativitatem Domini canticum"'' H.416, ''Sur la Naissance de N.S. Jésus-Christ'' H.482'','' Marc-Antoine Charpentier * 1983 : ''Il Ballo delle Ingrate'',

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...

* 1984 : ''Airs de Cour'',

* 1984 : ''

Médée ''Médée'' is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century Fr ...

'' H.491, Marc-Antoine Charpentier * 1985 : ''Le Reniement de Saint Pierre'' H.424, Marc-Antoine Charpentier * 1986 : ''Dido and Aeneas'',

* 1987 : '' Atys'', Jean-Baptiste Lully * 1988 : ''La Mort de Didon'', Michel Pignolet de Monteclair * 1989 : ''Oratorio per la Settimana Santa'', Luigi Rossi * 1991 : '' Orfeo'', Luigi Rossi * 1993 : ''

Castor et Pollux ''Castor et Pollux'' (''Castor and Pollux'') is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, first performed on 24 October 1737 by the Académie royale de musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris. The librettist was Pierre-Joseph-Justin Bernard ...

'', Jean-Philippe Rameau These recordings were all published by

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is a record label that specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group, which is itself owned by Universal M ...

France.

With La Chapelle Royale

* 1985 : "''Motet Pour l'Offertoire de la Messe Rouge"'' H.434, ''"Oculi omnium"'' H.346, ''"Pour la seconde fois que le Saint Sacrement vient au même reposoir"'' H.372 and ''Miserere'' H.219,

* 1987 : ''Musikalische Exequien'', Heinrich Schütz * 1987 : ''Vespro della Beata Vergina'', Claudio Monteverdi (Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale, Saqueboutiers, Toulouse) * 1990 : ''Requiem'', Jean Gilles * 1990 : ''

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

BWV 243'', Johann Sebastian Bach These recordings were all published by Harmonia Mundi France.

With Ricercar Consort

* 1988 : ''Deutsche Barock Kantaten (III)'' (Schein, Tunder, Buxtehude) * 1989 : ''Deutsche Barock Kantaten (V)'' (Hammerschmidt, Selle

Johann Hermann Schein Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into German ...

, Franz Tunder, Weckmann, Lübeck) * 1989 : ''Motets à deux voix'',

Henri Dumont Henri Dumont (also Henry Du Mont, originally Henry de Thier) (1610 – 8 May 1684) was a baroque composer of the French school, born in the Southern Netherlands. Life Dumont was born to Henry de Thier and Elisabeth Orban in Looz ( Borgloon). Th ...

These recordings were all published by Ricercar.

With Collegium Vocale Gent

* 1990 : Missae, BWV 234 & 235, Sanctus, BWV 238, Johann Sebastian Bach * 1991 : Missae, BWV 233 & 236, Johann Sebastian Bach * 1993 : ''Kantaten'', BWV 39, 93 &

107 107 may refer to: *107 (number), the number *AD 107, a year in the 2nd century AD *107 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *107 (New Jersey bus) *107 Camilla, a main-belt asteroid *Peugeot 107, a city car See also

*10/7 (disambiguation) *Bohrium, ...

* 1996 : ''

Geistliche Chormusik ' (Sacred choral music) is a collection of motets on German texts for choir by Heinrich Schütz. It was printed in Dresden in 1648 as his ' ( Op. 11), and comprises 29 individual settings for five to seven voices, which were assigned numbers 3 ...

'', Heinrich Schütz These recordings were all published by Virgin Classics.

With Barcarole, founded and directed by Agnès Mellon

* 2005 : ''Les Déesses outragées'', cantatas of

Louis-Nicolas Clérambault Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (19 December 1676 – 26 October 1749) was a French musician, best known as an organist and composer. He was born, and died, in Paris. Biography Clérambault came from a musical family (his father and two of his sons w ...

, Philippe Courbois and

François Colin de Blamont François Colin de Blamont (22 November 1690 – 14 February 1760) was a French composer of the Baroque era. Born at Versailles as François Colin, he served as a royal musician and was eventually ennobled in 1750, his surname becoming ''Colin de ...

* 2011 : ''Parole e querele d'amore''

Recordings

* 1987:

: "Vêpres Solennelles" H.540, H.190, H.50, H.149, H.52, H.150, H.51, H.161, H.191, H.65, H.77, John Elwes, Ian Honeyman, tenors, Agnès Mellon, Brigitte Bellamy, sopranos,

, Jean Nirouet, countertenors,

, Jacques Bona, baritones, Choeur régional- Nord Pas de Calais, La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy,

Odile Bailleux Odile Bailleux (; 30 December 1939 – 19 November 2024) was a French harpsichordist and organist. She was a long-time organist of both Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Notre-Dame-des-Blancs-Manteaux in Paris. As a harpsicordist she was a ...

, organ, conducted by

Jean-Claude Malgoire Jean-Claude Malgoire (25 November 1940 – 14 April 2018) was a French oboist and later conductor. Early life Malgoire was born on 25 November 1940 in Avignon, France. His mother was born in Italy. Malgoire graduated from the Paris Conservatory. ...

(2 CD CBS Sony 1987) * 1987 : ''

Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz ''Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz'' (The seven words of Jesus Christ on the Cross), SWV 478, is a German-language musical setting of the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross by Heinrich Schütz. It was written in Weissenfels around 1645 a ...

'' by Heinrich Schütz,

Ensemble Clément Janequin The Ensemble Clément Janequin is a French early music ensemble founded in 1978 and specializing in the chansons of the Renaissance and early Baroque. The founder, and leader, is the countertenor Dominique Visse. The group has recorded almost excl ...

(dir.

), Saqueboutiers, Toulouse * 1987 : ''Duos et Cantates'',

Giacomo Carissimi (Gian) Giacomo Carissimi (; baptized 18 April 160512 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the ...

Concerto Vocale Concerto Vocale is a Belgian musical ensemble for baroque music. History Concerto Vocale was founded in Amsterdam in 1977 by the Belgian countertenor and conductor René Jacobs, with Judith Nelson appearing on the first solo recordings. In lat ...

, dir.

* 1988 : ''Les Comédies-Ballets'', Lully-Molière,

Les Musiciens du Louvre Les Musiciens du Louvre (literally ''The Musicians of the Louvre'') is a French Historically informed performance, period instrument ensemble, formed in 1982. Originally based in Paris, since 1996 it has been based in the Couvent des Minimes de Gre ...

, dir.

* 1988 : ''Scylla et Glaucus'',

Jean-Marie Leclair Jean-Marie Leclair l'aîné (Jean-Marie Leclair the Elder) (10 May 1697 – 22 October 1764) was a French Baroque violinist and composer. He is considered to have founded the French violin school. His brothers, the lesser-known Jean-Marie ...

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conv ...

English Baroque Soloists The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on authentic performance, period instruments, formed in 1978 by English Conducting, conductor John Eliot Gardiner, Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early B ...

, dir. John Eliot Gardiner * 1992 : ''Songs from Orpheus Britannicus'', Henry Purcell, interpreted by Agnès Mellon,

and

Wieland Kuijken Wieland Kuijken (; born 31 August 1938 in Dilbeek) is a Belgian musician and player of the viola da gamba and baroque cello. Biography Kuijken started his career in music in 1952 with the Brussels Alariusensemble of which he formed part until ...

* 1993 : ''Cantiques Spirituels de

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...

'', Pascal Colasse,

Les Talens Lyriques The French musical ensemble Les Talens Lyriques was created in 1991 in Paris, France, by the harpsichordist and orchestral conductor Christophe Rousset. This instrumental and vocal formation derives its name from the subtitle of '' Les fêtes d'H ...

, dir. Christophe Rousset * 1993 : ''Motets à une ou deux voix'',

Daniel Danielis Daniel Danielis (Visé near Liège 1635- Vannes 1696) was a Belgian composer. He studied at Maastricht and was organist at Saint Lambert's Church. Between 1661 and 1681 he served as ''Kapellmeister'' at the court of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. In 1684 he ...

, Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe Rousset * 1993 : ''Leçons de Ténèbres, Office du Vendredi Saint'' H.105, H.95, H.140, H.133, H.130, H.99, H.100, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Il Seminario Musicale, dir.

* 2003 : ''Maria, Madre de Dio'' (

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

, Ferrandini, Scarlatti), ensemble Arion, dir.

Monica Huggett Monica Huggett (born 16 May 1953 in London, England) is a British conductor and leading baroque violinist. Biography At the age of 16, Huggett started studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London, with Manoug Parikian and Kato Havas, baroque ...

* 1997 : Chabrier mélodies (with Franck Leguérinel); Françoise Tillard (piano) - Timpani

Opera roles

Agnès Mellon has played several opera roles, all of them in the field of baroque music: * ''Actéon'', Marc-Antoine Charpentier (Diane) * ''Médée'', Marc-Antoine Charpentier (Créuse)Rothstein, Edward (21 May 1994)
"A 'Medee' That Turns Antiquity Into Life"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' * ''Atys'', Jean-Baptiste Lully (Sangaride) * ''Orfeo'', Luigi Rossi (Orfeo) * ''Castor et Pollux'', Jean-Philippe Rameau (Télaïre) * '' Scylla et Glaucus'', Jean-Marie Leclair (Vénus)

References

External links

Agnès Mellon, la voie éclectique
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellon, Agnes 1958 births Living people People from Épinay-sur-Seine French operatic sopranos French performers of early music Women performers of early music