Hervé Niquet (born 28 October 1957) is a French conductor, harpsichordist,

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, and the director of

Le Concert Spirituel Le Concert Spirituel is a French ensemble specialising in works of baroque music, played on period instruments. Founded by Hervé Niquet in 1987, it is named after the 18th-century concert series Concert Spirituel. The group performs internation ...

, specializing in French

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 transiti ...

Biography

Born on 28 October 1957, Hervé Niquet was raised at

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

in the department of Somme. He studied harpsichord, composition, conducting, and opera singing. In 1980, he was appointed as the choir master of the

Opéra National de Paris The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

. Between 1985 and 1986, Niquet became a member of Les Arts florissants as a tenor, the ensemble that William Christie founded. In 1987, he established his own ensemble named "Le Concert Spirituel" which focuses on French

grand motet The grand motet (plural grands motets) was a genre of motet cultivated at the height of the French Baroque music, French baroque, although the term dates from later French usage. At the time, due to the stylistic feature of employing two alternating ...

s of the 17th and 18th centuries.Réjean Beaucage;

Jane Brierley Jane Brierley (born 1935) is a Canadian translator, translating from French to English. She received a B.A. from Bishop's University in 1956. During the early 1960s, while her husband was completing a degree at the University of Paris, Brierley ...

(translation), (Sept. 3, 2003
''Hervé Niquet and la Nouvele Sinfonie''
at

La Scena Musicale ''The Music Scene'' (French: ''La Scena Musicale'') is a Canadian bilingual quarterly magazine that promotes classical music in Canada. The magazine was established by Wah Keung Chan in September 1996. Each issue contains a comprehensive calendar ...

Recordings

Accord, Adda *

André Campra André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' tra ...

Vol.1 Te Deum. Motets Niquet (Adda 581250) no reissue * André Campra Vol.II Requiem. Benedictus Dominus. Niquet (Accord) * André Campra Vol.III Deus noster refugium. Cantate Domino. Messe ad majorem. De profundis. Niquet (Accord) 92 *

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

: ''

La cambiale di matrimonio ''La cambiale di matrimonio'' (; English language, English: ''The Bill of Marriage'' or ''The Marriage Contract'') is a one-act operatic farsa, farsa comica by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. The libretto was based on the play b ...

'' * Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. Grand Motet. 6 Motets a voix seul * Jean Gilles (composer). Motet à St Jean-Baptiste. 'Cantate Jordanis Incolae'. Niquet 1989 (Accord) * Jean Gilles. Te Deum. Diligam te Domine Niquet (Accord) Naxos *

Paolo Lorenzani Paolo Francesco Lorenzani (5 January 1640 – 28 October 1713) was an Italian composer of the Baroque Era. While living in France, he helped promote appreciation for the Italian style of music. Lorenzani was born in Rome and was trained by ...

, ''Motet pour les confesseurs, Litanies à la Vierge, Antienne à la Vierge, Dialogue entre Jesus et l'âme,'' with Le Concert Spirituel (1997) *

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

grands motets The grand motet (plural grands motets) was a genre of motet cultivated at the height of the French baroque, although the term dates from later French usage. At the time, due to the stylistic feature of employing two alternating choirs, the works w ...

. 3 vols. (reissued Naxos) * Joseph Michel 1688–1736 Lecons de Ténèbres Niquet 1997 *

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (23 December 1689 – 28 October 1755) was a French baroque composer of instrumental music, cantatas, opéra-ballets, and vocal music. Boismortier was one of the first composers to have no patrons: having obtained a ro ...

. Serenades francaises Niquet (Naxos) * Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. ''Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse'' * Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. ''Ballets de Village'' *

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'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

(1643–1704): **1994 : ''Messe des Morts à quatre voix'' H.7'', Pie Jesu'' H.263, ''De profundis'' H.213, '' Litanies de la Vierge'' H.89'', Transfige dulcissime Jesu'' H.251, ''Confitebor tibi'' H.220, ''Nisi'' ''Dominus'' H.160, H.160 a, ''Laudate pueri Dominum'' H.203, H.203 a, with Le Concert Spirituel, CD Naxos (Vol. 1) 10 de Répertoire. **1995 : "Vespers of the Blessed Virgin''", Beatus vir'' H.221, ''Laudate pueri'' H.149, ''Lauda Jerusalem'' H.210, ''Laetatus sum'' H.216, ''Nisi Dominus'' H.150, ''Ave Maris stella'' H.60, ''Magnificat'' H.72, ''Salve Regina à 3 choeurs'' H.24, with Le Concert Spirituel, CD Naxos (Vol. 2) **1996 : ''Te deum'' H.147, ''Messe'' H.1, ''Precatio pro Regis'' H.166, ''Panis quem ego dabo'' H.275, ''Domine salvum fac'' ''regem'' H.281, ''Canticum Zachariae'' H.345, with Le Concert Spirituel, CD Naxos (Vol.3) **1998 : ''

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "

y soul Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or sevent ...

magnifies

he Lord He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Eastern Christianity, Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated ...

'' H.76'', Litanies de la Vierge'' H.83'', Quatre antiennes à la Vierge'' H.44-47, ''Prière à la Vierge'' H.367, ''Pro omnibus festis'' H.333, ''Petit motet pour la Vierge'' H.30, ''Chant joyeux du temps de Pâques'' H.339, with Le Concert Spirituel, CD Naxos (Vol. 4) *

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 ...

: **''Le Triomphe d'Iris'' (1706) (Naxos) ** 2 Cantatas : ''Orphée'', ''Léandre et Héro'', + sonatas Piau/Niquet (Naxos) ** 2 Cantatas : ''La Mort d'Hercule,'' ''Polipheme'', + symphonias Coadou/Niquet 96 (Naxos) *

Orazio Benevoli Orazio Benevoli or Benevolo (19 April 1605 – 17 June 1672), was a Franco-Italian composer of large scaled polychoral sacred choral works (e.g., one work featured forty-eight vocal and instrumental lines) of the mid-Baroque era. He was born ...

. ''Missa Azzolina. Magnificat. Dixit Dominus. Laetatus sum'' * Jean-Nicolas Geoffrey. ''Messe pour les fetes doubles. Memento Domine Davi. Regina coeli'' *

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

. ''

España , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

'',

Suite pastorale Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite ...

, Habanera, Danse slave and Fête polonaise from ''

Le roi malgré lui ''Le roi malgré lui'' (''King in Spite of Himself'' or ''The reluctant king'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier of 1887 with an original libretto by Emile de Najac and Paul Burani. The opera is revived occasionally, but h ...

'', Lamento, Prélude pastoral and

Joyeuse marche ''Joyeuse marche'' is a popular orchestra piece by the French composer Emmanuel Chabrier. It is the second half of a pair of orchestral pieces (the other was ''Prélude pastoral'') first performed on 4 November 1888 in Angers, conducted by the com ...

. *

. ''Motet pour les confesseurs.'' Glossa * Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. Daphnis et Chloe (2CD) Niquet (Glossa Lorraine) * Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. ''Sonates pour basses'' * François d' Agincourt. ''Pièces D'Orgue '' * François d’ Agincourt Pieces de Clavecin Dediees a la reine Niquet *

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

's ''

Dido and Æneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was com ...

'', with Le Concert Spirituel and Glossa. *

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Georg Friedrich Haendel 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 concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's ''

Water Music The ''Water Music'' is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River Thames. Struct ...

Fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

'' with Le Concert Spirituel and Glossa. *

: Henri Desmarets' ''Grands Motets, vol. 1'', with Le Concert Spirituel and Glossa. *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

's ''

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

'', with

Véronique Gens Véronique Gens (born 19 April 1966) is a French operatic soprano. She has spent much of her career recording and performing Baroque music, Baroque music. Gens was born in Orléans, France, and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, winning fir ...

, Hanna Bayodi, Béatrice Jarrige, Cyril Auvity,

Joseph Cornwell Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

Peter Harvey Peter Michael St Clair Harvey (16 September 19442 March 2013) was an Australian journalist and broadcaster. Harvey was a long-serving correspondent and contributor with the Nine Network from 1975 to 2013. Career Harvey studied his journalism ...

, Le Concert Spirituel and Glossa. *

's ''Sonates pour basses'', with Le Concert Spirituel and Glossa. *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

: Henri Desmarets' ''Grands Motets, vol. 2'', with Le Concert Spirituel and Glossa. *Marc-Antoine Charpentier : ** 2002: ''3 Leçons de ténèbres'' H.135, H.136, H.137, 5 ''Méditations pour le Carême'' H.380, H.381, H.386, H.387, H.388, with Le Concert Spirituel (Glossa) ** 2002: ''Messe de Monsieur de'' ''Mauroy'' H.6, ''Domine Salvum Fac Regem'' H.299, with Le Concert Spirituel (Glossa) **2006: ''Messe à huit voix'' H.2, ''Domine Salvum Fac Regem'' H.283 ''& Te Deum à huit voix'' H.145, with Le Concert Spirituel (Glossa) ** 2009: ''Missa Assumpta est'' ''Maria'' H.11, ''Domine Salvum Fac Regem'' H.303 & H.291, with Le Concert Spirituel (Glossa) *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: André-Cardinal Destouches's ''

Callirhoé ''Callirhoé'' is an opera by the French composer André Cardinal Destouches. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts. The libretto, by Pierre-Charles Roy, is based on a story from ''The Description of Greece'' ...

'', with Cyril Auvity, Stéphanie d'Oustrac, João Fernandes, Le Concert Spirituel, and Glossa. *

Marin Marais Marin Marais (; 31 May 1656, in Paris – 15 August 1728, in Paris) was a French composer and viol player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colomb ...

's ''

Sémélé is an opera by Marin Marais with a libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte first performed on 9 April 1709, by the Paris Opera at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' with a prologue and five acts ...

'', with Shannon Mercer, Jaël Azzaretti, Bénédicte Tauran, Hjördis Thébault, Anders J. Dahlin, Thomas Dolié, Marc Labonnette,

Lisandro Abadie Lisandro Abadie (born 28 July 1974) is an Argentine bass-baritone. He studied in Switzerland, initially in Basel at the Schola Cantorum (music diploma in 2001) and subsequently at the Music School of Lucerne University, graduating with a solo-sin ...

, Le Concert Spirituel and Glossa. * André Campra. Le Carnaval de Venise Opéra-ballet. Paris, 1699 *

André Grétry André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous ...

. ''Andromaque'' * Jean-Baptiste Lully. '' Proserpine''. Quinault 1680 *

Pierre Bouteiller Pierre Bouteiller (1655–1717) was a French Baroque composer. His surviving works comprise 13 petits motets The ''petit motet'' ("little motet") was a genre of domestic sacred chamber music popular in France during the baroque era. It was the sa ...

. Missa pro defunctis, Sébastien de

Brossard Brossard (, , ) is a municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada and is part of the Greater Montreal area. According to the 2021 census, Brossard's population was 91,525. It shares powers with the urban agglomeration of Longueuil a ...

Stabat Mater Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet *

Alessandro Striggio Alessandro Striggio (c. 1536/1537 – 29 February 1592) was an Italian composer, instrumentalist and diplomat of the Renaissance. He composed numerous madrigals as well as dramatic music, and by combining the two, became the inventor of madrigal co ...

. Missa "Ecco si Beato Giorno" *

Louis Le Prince Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (28 August 1841 – disappeared 16 September 1890, declared dead 16 September 1897) was a French artist and the inventor of an early motion-picture camera, possibly the first person to shoot a moving picture sequ ...

. Missa Macula non est in te, Charpentier, Motets H.306, H.341, H.245, H.299, (Ouverture H.536), Lully, ''O dulcissime Domine'' (2013) Prix de Rome, Ediciones singulares *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

. Music for the Prix de Rome *

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

. Music For The Prix de Rome. Le Gladiateur; Invocation; ''

La Damoiselle élue ''La Damoiselle élue'' (''The Blessed Damozel''), List of compositions by Claude Debussy by Lesure number, L. 62, is a cantata for soprano soloist, 2-part children's choir, 2-part female (contralto) choir (with contralto solo), and orchestra, com ...

''; Printemps; *

Gustave Charpentier Gustave Charpentier (; 25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera ''Louise''.Langham Smith R., "Gustave Charpentier", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Life and ca ...

. Music for the Prix de Rome *

Max d'Ollone Maximilien-Paul-Marie-Félix d'Ollone (13 June 1875 – 15 May 1959) was a 20th-century French composer. Life and career Born in Besançon, d'Ollone started composing very early, entering the Paris Conservatoire at 6, winning many prizes, rece ...

. Music for the Prix de Rome Other *

Ferdinand Hérold Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold (28 January 1791 – 19 January 1833), better known as Ferdinand Hérold (), was a French composer. He was celebrated in his lifetime for his operas, of which he composed more than twenty, but he also wrote ballet mus ...

. Piano concertos 2-4. Jean-Frederic Neuburger, Sinfonia Varsovia, Hervé Niquet. Mirare *

François Cosset François Cosset (Picardy, c. 1610 - c. 1673) was a French composer. His works include 8 masses, 4 of them composed at Reims in 1659.Jean Duron ''La naissance du style français: 1650-1673'' - 2008 p52 "autour de 1660: Charles d'Helfer à Soisso ...

. ''Missa Super Flumina Babylonis''. Atma *

Jean Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and 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 French opera ...

. ''Pygmalion (Acte de Ballet) Le Temple de la Gloire.'' Virgin *

. '' In convertendo'', Virgin *

. ''Missa Si Deus Pro Nobis, Magnificat'', Alpha

References

External links

The official site of Le Concert Spirituel

at

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

A review of debut recording of Orazio Benevoli's Missa Si Deus Pro Nobis, Magnificat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niquet, Herve People from Abbeville 1957 births French male conductors (music) French harpsichordists French performers of early music French operatic tenors Living people 21st-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French male musicians 20th-century French conductors (music) 20th-century French male musicians