Orfeo ed Euridice

Founded more than fifteen years ago, the Belgian group Scherzi Musicali has become a leading ensemble in the world of early music, renowned for its work on the repertoires of the 17th and 18th centuries, which it explores with unflagging enthusiasm. Whether rediscovered or well-established repertoire, Scherzi Musicali aims to approach the music with the same objectivity, and each of the parameters of its interpretation is the subject of research and reflection, in quest of the most appropriate means of expression for each musical style.
 
The ensemble brings together anywhere from three to over forty musicians and is centred around its founder and artistic director, Nicolas Achten, who sings while accompanying himself on the lute or theorbo, harp or harpsichord. He is joined by a group of young singers and instrumentalists with whom, concert after concert, he develops a distinctive sound identity based on basso continuo instruments and their interaction with the rhetoric of singing.
 
Scherzi Musicali performs throughout Europe: Festivals de Wallonie, Festival van Vlaanderen, De Bijloke, De Singel, Concertgebouw Brugge, AMUZ Antwerpen, BOZAR Brussels, Automne musical de Spa, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Operadagen Rotterdam, Ferrara Musica, Amici della Musica di Padova, the Venetian Festival of Baroque Music, Tage Alter Musik Herne, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, RheinVokal, Musikverein Wien, Kölner Philharmonie, Itinéraire Baroque in Périgord Vert, Festival Embaroquement immédiat, Festival de musique Baroque dʼAmbronay, Kuhmon Kamarimusiikki, Barokkfest in Trondheim, Teatro La Fenice, etc.
 
Scherzi Musicali’s discography includes thirteen recordings to date, eleven of which are world premieres: “L’Euridice” – Giulio Caccini (2008), “Dulcis Amor Iesu” – motets by Giovanni Felice Sances (2009), two volumes of “Petits motets” – Josep-Hector Fiocco (2009 & 2017), “La Catena d’Adone” – Domenico Mazzocchi (2010), “How pleasant ’tis to Love” – songs by Henry Purcell (2012), “Il Pianto d’Orfeo” (2013), “La Maddalena” – oratorio by Antonio Bertali (2016). The ensemble’s later CDs include secular works by Giovanni Felice Sances: “Dialoghi amorosi” (2017), “O penosa lontananza” – unpublished cantatas by Alessandro Scarlatti (2018), “O splendida dies” – motets by Giovanni Paolo Colonna (2019), and “Motets” – Jean-Noël Hamal (2021). Its most recent releases are the “Leçons de ténèbres” by Charles-Joseph van Helmont (2023) and the double album “Il concerto Caccini”, which was released in 2024. These albums have been published by Alpha Classics, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi/Sony, Musique en Wallonie and Ricercar labels, for whom the ensemble now records exclusively.
 
Each of the ensemble’s recordings has met with strong enthusiasm from the international press: Diapason d’or, Diapason découverte, Choc de Classica (Classica), Joker (Crescendo), Octaves de la musique, La Clef (ResMusica), Prelude Classics Award, 4 stars (Monde de la musique), Muse d’or & Muse du mois (Muse Baroque), Golden Ring (Classic Info), Outstanding (International Record Review), Prix Cæcilia, etc.
 
On screen, Scherzi Musicali can be seen in the documentary Monteverdi, aux sources de l’opéra by Philippe Béziat (Arte, 2017), and in the film À l’ombre des filles by Étienne Comar (2022).
 
Scherzi Musicali is supported by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (Direction générale de la Culture, Service de la Musique) and is “artist in residence” at the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen.

Baritone, harpsichordist, lutenist, harpist and conductor, Nicolas Achten made a name for himself in the world of early music at a very young age: laureate of the VII International Baroque Singing Competition of Chimay in 2006, he was elected classical artist of the year in 2009 at the Octaves de la musique award ceremony and received the “Young Musician of the Year Award 2009” from the Union of the Belgian Music Press.
 
Nicolas Achten studied singing, lute, harpsichord, ancient harp, and conducting at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles and the Conservatoire royal de la Haye; he completed his training in various masterclasses, notably at the Académie baroque european d’Ambronay and the Centre de la Voix de Royaumont.
 
He has been invited to perform with prestigious early music ensembles, including L’Arpeggiata, Ensemble La Fenice, La Petite Bande, Ensemble Ausonia, Les Agrémens, Akadêmia, Les Talens Lyriques, Il Fondamento, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Il Seminario Musicale, Le Poème Harmonique, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Ensemble Phoenix Munich, and has worked under the direction of conductors such as Jean Tubéry, Sigiswald Kuijken, Marc Minkowski, Christophe Rousset, and René Jacobs.
 
Today, he is one of the few classical singers to accompany himself, reviving historical practice. Eager to deepen this approach and to put his research into practice, he founded the ensemble Scherzi Musicali, whose concerts throughout Europe and 13 recordings have aroused the unanimous enthusiasm of the public and the international press: Diapason d’or, Diapason découverte, Choc de Classica (Classica), Joker (Crescendo), La Clef (ResMusica), Prelude Classics Award, Muse d’or, Golden Ring (Classic Info), “Outstanding” in the International Record Review, Prix Cæcilia, etc.
 
In addition, Nicolas Achten explores atypical encounters, in a duo with folk accordionist Didier Laloy and in a trio with jazz saxophonist Manu Hermia or pop/rock singer Kris Dane.
 
Nicolas Achten is a professor of early music singing and lute and teaches applied early music theory at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles. He was musical director of the Muziektheater Transparant summer courses from 2007 to 2015 and is regularly invited to give masterclasses throughout Europe (Operastudio Vlaanderen, SIMAW in Namur, the University of East Anglia, the Yorke Trust in Norfolk, Conservatorio di Milano, etc.).