Biography

Ensemble Caprice, based in Montreal, has proven a durable presence on the Baroque music scene in Canada and beyond. The group's interpretations have sometimes been controversial, but that has perhaps been a draw leading to the growth of its large recording catalog. Ensemble Caprice was founded in Germany in 1989 by recorder virtuoso, flutist, and conductor Matthias Maute. The group has always had a small core membership (currently five musicians), to which it adds according to the requirements of the music being performed. At first, the other players in the group were German associates of Maute's, but as he settled in Montreal and began performing and teaching there, he drew new members and collaborators from the region. Primary among these was flutist and recorder player Sophie Larivière, who became a member and co-director of Ensemble Caprice in 1997. She and Maute are married. The year 1997 also saw the recording debut of Ensemble Caprice on the Antes Edition/Zebralution label, with an album of music by Corelli and Johann Kuhnau. Two years later, the group moved to the ATMA Classique label for the album Sweet Follia, and since then, it has recorded mostly for that label and for Analekta. Ensemble Caprice has toured widely, appearing not only across North America, Europe, and Asia but also Israel and several African countries. It has appeared at major European early music festivals, including those in Bruges, Belgium, Regensburg, Germany, and Utrecht in the Netherlands, as well as giving concerts in the U.S. at the Frick Collection in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, and the Boston Early Music Festival. Ensemble Caprice's home concert base is Bourgie Hall at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The ensemble's high-powered interpretations have not always found favor with critics (one Montreal daily compared an Ensemble Caprice performance to Baroque speed metal), but the group has consistently drawn audiences not only among live music listeners but among consumers of recorded music. By 2021, the group's recording catalog numbered well over 15 items, the latest of which was a performance of Handel's Messiah, HWV 56, conducted by Maute and featuring the Ensemble Vocal Arts-Québec. The group's scheduled concerts for 2022 included several devoted to Bach cantatas and oratorios. ~ James Manheim, Rovi