Les Arts Florissants is a Baroque musical ensemble in residence at the Théâtre de Caen in Caen, France. The organization was founded by conductor William Christie in 1979. The ensemble derives its name from the 1685 opera Les Arts florissants by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The organization consists of a chamber orchestra of period instruments and a small vocal ensemble. Current notable members include soprano Danielle de Niese and tenor Paul Agnew, who has served as assistant conductor since 2007. Jonathan Cohen is also on the conducting staff; Christie remains the organization's Artistic Director.
Baroque period instruments: lute, hurdy-gurdy, viola da gamba, Baroque violin, and Baroque guitar
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687). The 1986 production of his opera Atys by Les Arts Florissants brought the ensemble to international attention. The opera was subsequently recorded by the group for Harmonia Mundi in 1993.
Historically informed performance 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 which a work was originally conceived.
Performance on period instruments is a key aspect of HIP, such as this baroque orchestra (Photo: Josetxu Obregón and the Spanish ensemble La Ritirata, 2013).
Historical collections of preserved instruments help researchers (St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh)
A Viola da gamba by Thomas Cole (c. 1680)
Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, accompanied by Christina Pluhar in 2011 (theorbo)