Analekta is

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's largest independent classical music recording label. The label, which takes its name from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''analekta'' ("a collection of the finest works"), was founded in 1988 by the Canadian music industry manager and entrepreneur François Mario Labbé, who is its owner and president. It is based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and has released more than 500 classical albums in the past 26 years. Its first three CDs were an album by the Canadian violinist

Angèle Dubeau Angèle Dubeau, (born 24 March 1962) is a Canadian classical violinist. She has devoted a large part of her career to making classical music accessible to a wide audience, but also frequently plays works by contemporary composers. Early life a ...

, the first digital recording of the Red Army Choir, and a recording of the soundtrack of ''The Music Teacher'' starring

José van Dam Joseph, Baron Van Damme (born 27 August 1940 in Brussels), known as José van Dam, is a Belgian bass-baritone. At the age of 17, he entered the Brussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplo ...

History

In 1988, while François Mario Labbé was producing shows around the world, he had in mind three recording projects, including one from violinist Angèle Dubeau. The multinationals at the time rarely agreed to produce music from Canadian artists, hence Labbé's motivation to create a recording company that would be focused on them. The label's initial CD was by

, followed by the world's first digital recording of the Red Army Choir, and the soundtrack to '' The Music Teacher'' starring

. The success of these three recordings, both nationally and internationally, led to more signings, and in 1995 the company released 40 albums. In April 2022,

Outhere Outhere Music is a Belgian classical music and jazz publisher, directed by Charles Adriaenssen, which owns several formerly independent labels, many of them boutique early music specialists: * Fuga Libera, a Belgian label founded in 2004 under th ...

, a Belgian classical music and jazz publisher, acquired Analekta.

Founder

Labbé is the founder and CEO of the Canadian classical recording label Analekta. He was honored in 2010 with the title of Knight of

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...

for his contribution to the cultural development of Quebec.

Artists

Its catalogue includes recordings from major Canadian artists such as

, Alain Lefèvre,

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano GOQ, MSM (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 202 ...

and the

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Maison symphonique de Montréal, Montreal Symphony House at Plac ...

, Marie-Nicole Lemieux,

Anton Kuerti Anton Emil Kuerti, OC (born July 21, 1938) is an Austrian-born Canadian pianist, music teacher, composer, and conductor. He has developed international recognition as a solo pianist.Gryphon Trio The Gryphon Trio is a Canadian classical music ensemble that has been nominated for several and has won three Juno Awards for its classical recordings released by the Analekta label. Its members are Annalee Patipatanakoon (violin), Roman Borys (cel ...

, Ensemble Caprice, Stick&Bow, I Musici de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Classical music record labels Canadian independent record labels Record labels established in 1988