Paul Agnew (born 11 April 1964 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

) is a Scottish

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and conductor.

Biography

Agnew read music as a Choral Scholar at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. He became associated with various groups specializing in

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

(

Ex Cathedra Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

, the Consort of Musicke, the

Tallis Scholars The Tallis Scholars is a British professional early music vocal ensemble established in 1973. Normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers, they specialise in performing ''a cappella'' Religious music, sacred vocal ...

, the Sixteen and the Gothic Voices) before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s. He is well known for singing high tenor roles in French repertoire, although he has had success in other types of music. Paul Agnew's recordings include

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's '' Coronation Mass'',

Bach cantata The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas ( German: ), are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. As far as known, Bach's earliest can ...

s and Bach's '' Mass in B minor'' with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Bach's '' St John Passion'' with Stephen Cleobury (also on video), Bach's '' St Markus Passion'' with Roy Goodman, Berlioz's '' L'enfance du Christ'' with Philippe Herreweghe, Handel's ''

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

'' with

Paul McCreesh Paul McCreesh (born 24 May 1960) is an English conductor. Paul McCreesh is the founder and artistic director of the Gabrieli Consort & Players. With them he has performed in major concert halls and festivals across the world. He has been the ...

, Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance in a churc ...

'' with Philip Pickett and Rameau's '' Dardanus'' with Pinchgut Opera. He has played the title travesti role in Rameau's ''

Platée ''Platée'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d'Orville. Rameau bought the rights to the libretto ''Platée ou Junon jalouse'' (''Plataea, or Juno Jealous'') by Jacques Autr ...

'', which has been released on DVD.

Les Arts Florissants

Paul Agnew is closely associated with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew has performed the roles of Jason in Charpentier's '' Médée'' H.490 and of Hippolyte in Rameau's '' Hippolyte et Aricie'', as well as appearing on the recordings of "''Grand Office des morts''" H.2, H.12, H.311, ''Te Deum'' H.146, ''The Judgement of Salomon'' H.422, ''Motet for a long offertory'' H.434, ''

La descente d'Orphée aux enfers ''La descente d'Orphée aux enfers'' H. Wiley Hitchcock, H.488 (English: ''The Descent of Orpheus to the Underworld'') is an incomplete chamber opera in two acts by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was probably composed in early ...

'' H.488 and '' Les plaisirs de Versailles'' H.480, by Marc-Antoine Charpentier; '' Acis and Galatea'' by

George Frideric 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 ...

, and Rameau's ''Grands Motets'' ( Gramophone's Best Early Music Vocal award in 1995). Agnew conducted Les Arts Florissants in Purcell's opera ''The Indian Queen''. He was appointed Associate Musical Director of Les Arts Florissants in 2013 as well as co-director of Le Jardin des Voix, the academy for young singers, established by Les Arts Florissants.

Conducting

In 2007 Agnew conducted Les Arts Florissants in a performance of

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

. He was the first person other than William Christie to conduct the ensemble. He has since combined his conducting and singing careers.

References

External links

(English) His biography on the Les Arts Florissants webpage

(French) Interview with Paul Agnew on Classicagenda.fr

"Paul Agnew"
biography and career at Goldberg Publications
Richard Wigmore. "Agnew, Paul."
(28 February 2002) at

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, Paul 1964 births Living people Scottish operatic tenors Musicians from Glasgow Scottish conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Scottish choral conductors 20th-century Scottish male opera singers 21st-century Scottish male opera singers 20th-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British conductors (music) Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Singers with The Tallis Scholars