Harmonia Mundi is an independent

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

which specializes in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...

PIAS Entertainment Group PIAS is a British recording, licensing, distribution, sales and marketing company for independent music. The company was founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot in Brussels, Belgium,

. Its Latin name ''harmonia mundi'' translates as "harmony of the world".

History

In the 1950s, two music entrepreneurs, Frenchman

Bernard Coutaz Bernard Coutaz (30 December 1922 – 26 February 2010) was a French musical publisher, founder of the Harmonia Mundi label. Coutaz was born into a working-class family in Saint-Auban-sur-l'Ouvèze and studied at the Salesians of Don Bosco, but wa ...

and German Rudolf Ruby, met by chance on a train journey and started a friendship based on their musical interests. They formed a business relationship and set up two classical music record labels, both named ''Harmonia Mundi ''. Coutaz's Harmonia Mundi (France) was founded in Saint-Michel-de-Provence, France, in 1958, and around the same time, Rudolf Ruby set up Deutsche Harmonia Mundi. The two labels shared similar aims and specialised in recordings of

Early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

and

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

, with an emphasis on scholarly,

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in whic ...

and high-quality sound and production values. They also shared the ''Harmonia Mundi '' name for commercial reasons and collaborated for many years, sharing artists, material and distribution, and competing successfully with classical labels such as Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre's

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

and

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

's Archiv Produktion. The association between the two labels began to loosen after Deutsche Harmonia Mundi partnered with

BASF BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...

and then with EMI. In 1989

Bertelsmann Music Group Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music co ...

(BMG) took over the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi's distribution. Ruby retired in 1992 and Coutaz tried unsuccessfully to buy the German record label and Deutsche Harmonia Mundi was wholly acquired by BMG. Today BMG is part of Sony Classical Records. Coutaz's Harmonia Mundi continued as an independent label for many years. In 1986 Harmonia Mundi (France) moved to

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...

, France. Harmonia Mundi (US) is a branch of Harmonia Mundi (France). There are also operations in the United Kingdom and in Spain. The label was acquired by

in September 2015.

Catalogue

Noted artists and ensembles who have recorded with Harmonia Mundi have included Maya Youssef,

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 music ...

, Dominique Visse, William Christie, Alfred Deller,

Andreas Scholl Andreas Scholl (born 10 November 1967) is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range, specialising in Baroque music. Born into a family of singers, Scholl was enrolled at the age of seven into the Kiedricher Chorbube ...

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 Re ...

Maurice Steger Maurice Steger (born 1971 in Winterthur, Switzerland) is a Swiss recorder player and conductor, mostly in Baroque music. Career Maurice Steger is a frequent guest soloist with leading Baroque ensembles such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berli ...

, Alexander Melnikov,

Isabelle Faust Isabelle Faust (born 19 March 1972) is a German violinist who has worked internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She received multiple awards. Life and career Faust was born in Esslingen on 12 March 1972. She received her first vi ...

Jean-Guihen Queyras Jean-Guihen Queyras is a French cellist. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 11 March 1967, and moved with his parents to Algeria when he was 5 years old; the family moved to France 3 years later. He is a professor at the Musikhochschule F ...

, Kent Nagano, Samuel Hasselhorn,

Raphaël Pichon Raphaël Pichon (born in 1984 in Paris) is a French countertenor, choral and orchestral conductor. Biography Raphaël Pichon was a member of the Maîtrise des Petits chanteurs de Versailles during his childhood. He then studied violin and piano ...

, Amandine Beyer, Freiburger Barockorchester,

les Siècles Les Siècles is a French symphony orchestra founded in 2003 by François-Xavier Roth, with ambition to put works from the 17th to 21st centuries into today's perspective. The musicians of the orchestra play each repertoire on the historical instru ...

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Academy for Early Music Berlin, short name: Akamus) is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982. Each year Akamus gives approximately 100 concerts, ranging from small chamber works to large-scale s ...

and

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

. Harmonia Mundi also issues recordings under a number of subsidiary labels such as Ambronay, Discograph, Le Chant du Monde and World Village.

Awards

Harmonia Mundi has received several accolades for its specialist recordings, including Label of the Year 2003 in the

Gramophone Classical Music Awards The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refer ...

;

Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording has been awarded since 1961. The award was originally titled Best Classical Opera Production. The current title has been used since 1962. Prior to 1961 the awards for operatic and choral performances were ...

for René Jacobs' recording of ''

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's Le nozze di Figaro'' at the

2005 Grammy Awards The 47th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. They were hosted by Queen Lati ...

; and Label of the Year 2006 at the Midem Classical Awards.

References

External links

Official website

World Village Records
* {{Authority control French companies established in 1958 Arles Companies based in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Classical music record labels Early music record labels French record labels IFPI members Jazz record labels Record labels established in 1958