A choir today recognized as belonging to the few best choirs in Europe.
A unique, pure and homogeneous sound, honed with patience and humanity by the Luxembourg-born conductor Pierre Cao, whose regard for the text in vocal music is acknowledged by musicians everywhere
Arsys Bourgogne's forces vary from four to 32 singers. The extreme professionalism which Arsys Bourgogne demands of its members enables the group to perform Baroque or Classical, Romantic or contemporary music. Both the ensemble and its individual members attach great importance to vocal timbre.
Arsys Bourgogne performs both in France and elsewhere in Europe : Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Arsenal in Metz, Auditorium in Dijon, Tonhalle in Zürich, Concertgebouw Brugge, Teatro Real in Madrid, Auditori in Girona, Philharmonie in Luxembourg…
Depending on the repertoire to be performed, Arsys Bourgogne finds itself working with a variery of instrumental ensembles such as Concerto Köln, Sevilla Baroque Orchestra, Luxemburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Stavanger Symphonic Orchestra (Norway), Limoges Baroque Ensemble, la Fenice, les Basses Réunies, l'Arpeggiata, Il Fondamento, Zefiro or les Folies Françoises.
A discography dynamics enlightening a rarely played repertoire. Pierre Menaults’ Vespers for Père La Chaise, Bach motets, the Vespers for the Viennese Imperial Chapel in the Reign of Charles IV, and Music for Salzburg Cathedral, devoted to Heinrich Ignaz von Biber, have found particular favour with the music critics (marked 5 in Goldberg, 10 in Répertoire or 5 Diapason). The Vespers for Saint Mary Magdalena (2006-Universal/Accord) bring the medieval Gregorian song of the Prag Schola Gregoriana and the contemporary vespers ordered to 6 French young composers together : T. Escaich, N. Bacri, G. Connesson, P-A. Charpy, P. Fénelon and R. Campo.
Last, The Paroles de vents (sept. 2007-Ambronay Editions) make us (re)discover Michael Haydn and the Bohemian Georg Druschetzky, with 2 masses for choirs and wind instruments.
Arsys Bourgogne also plays an active part in discussion groups and seminars. Pierre Cao himself regularly gives teaching sessions and specialised training for both amateur and professional conductors from all over Europe.
Arsys Bourgogne is a member of FEVIS (the French Federation of Specialised Vocal and Instrumental Ensembles).
Pierre
Caó, Originally from Luxemburg, Pierre Cao studied
composition and conducting at the Royal Brussels Conservatoire, winning,
among other awards, the diplôme supérieur in orchestral
conducting. Always fascinated by vocal music, he was only 18 years old when he first conducted a choir – the Chorale populaire des ouvriers de Dudelange.
In 1968 Pierre Cao won the Nikolai Malko international conducting competition in Copenhagen, and was appointed head of Radio Télé Luxembourg by Louis de Froment. The next ten years saw many recording projects, which earned him much praise on the international stage, as well as numerous and regular invitations from orchestras throughout Europe. From then on, Pierre Cao ran a double career, as an orchestral as well as a choral conductor.
Whilst still busy conducting a large symphonic and lyric repertoire, Pierre Cao was working tirelessly to promote amateur choirs, give vocal masterclasses and train choral conductors. Universally respected as a teacher, he launched himself into teaching conducting on an European scale. He was behind the founding of the Institut Européen du Chant Choral (INECC). Now a whole generation of conductors works in Belgium, France or Spain on the strength of his teaching. He has conducted many first-class vocal ensembles, covering most of the masterpieces of choral music from the Renaissance to the present day: the Ensemble Vocal du Luxembourg in his home country; the Koblenz Musikinstitut in Germany; La Psalette in France; and the Choeur de Chambre de Namur in Belgium.
For 40 years Pierre Cao has toured musical Europe conducting its choirs and orchestras. With his international experience of both choral and orchestral conducting, Pierre Cao is regularly invited to work with the most prestigious ensembles: Concerto Köln, the Berlin Rias Kammerchor, the Luxemburg Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras, the orchestre national d’Andorre, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Switzerland’s Capricio Basel orchestra, and so on. His love of Baroque music has led him to conduct many concerts with specialised ensembles such as the Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy, Stradavaria, the Ricercar Consort, the Budapest Concerto Armonica, les Agremens de Namur or La Fenice.
In 1999, Pierre Cao founded Arsys Bourgogne, the professional choir which he has conducted ever since. He is artistic director of the Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay festival and is Director of Conducting at the Catalonia Conservatoire in Barcelona.
