ANIMA ETERNA
IMMERSEEL, JOS VAN - conductor

Symphony no.4 ‘Italian’;
Symphony no.5 ‘Reformation’
(period performance)

Well-known pianist and harpsichordist Jos van Immerseel’s ‘authentic’ interpretations, based on a balanced combination of technique, improvisational talent, and theoretical knowledge, brought him international fame. One particularly striking example of this is his appointment, the first awarded to a native Fleming in 150 years, to a chair at the ‘Conservatoire National Supérieur’ of Paris. More than fifty recordings provide further evidence of the strong influence of primary source investigation on his performances. In Jos van Immerseel’s work, terms such as ‘rhetoric’ and ‘stylistic authenticity’ are no longer sterile abstractions; on the contrary. More than any other performer, he shows that these qualities, combined with his own profound musicality, result in consistently innovative, original interpretations. After working for many years with ad hoc- and guest ensembles, Jos van Immerseel founded an ensemble in 1985 that was better suited to the realization of his musical concepts and the results of his research. At the same time, it was intended to function as an experimental instrument for the testing of theory against practice. This was Anima Eterna. In the nine years since its foundation, the orchestra has made fourteen CDs, including the unsurpassed series of Mozart’s complete piano concerti; it has made concert tours in Europe and Japan and received innumerable prizes and honors (e.g. ‘Cultural Ambassador of the Flemish Community’, ‘Best Orchestra for historical performance in 1992’, awarded by the well-known American periodical CD review, the Caecilia prize of the Belgian musical press...). One of the main factors in the orchestra’s rapid rise to international fame has been the wide-ranging selections of the best musicians from more than 15 different countries; after five years of intensive work, they have succeeded in creating their own distinctive sound, a sound unmatched by any other ensemble today. In this way, Anima Eterna has gained a position in the world of historic performance which makes it the benchmark for performances of composers such as Mozart and Schubert.

(...) Van Immerseel riesce a riprodurre in modo ecceilente la timbrica dei registri di un organo, specie nell’entrata progessiva del grande corale nell’ultimo movimento (...) CD Classica, June 1995 (...) Op knappe wijze laat van Immerseel zijn orkest als een orgel klinken (...) (...) Het effect van een koor van fluiten en tongwerken wordt ook mogelijk gemaakt door het klankbeeld van de gebruikte oude instrumenten (...) Trouw, October 1994 (...) J.v.I. blijkt in staat achter een historische citatenmuur een poort te openen naar het herontdekken van deze monumetale werken in een meer oorspronkelijke gedaante. Hifi Video, January 1995 (...)... die vierte mit grossem Schwung, die fünfte mit markig-eindrücklichen, nie pathetisch ausgepressten Tuttis. St. Galler Dagblatt, January 1995 (...) Immerseel et Anima Eterna nous offrent l’exultation musicale même, dont ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’ est le blason. Diapason, March 1995 (...) Jos van Immerseel et sa jeune formation cosmopolite utilisent toutes leurs ressources de timbres et de couleurs pour nous livrer le plus lumineux et le plus transparent Mendelssohn. (...) Répertoire, March 1995 (...) de eerste opname met historische instrumenten van de Reformatie-symfonie. (...) Entr’Acte, December 1995 (...) ....nog nooit eerder hoorde ik de instrumenten zo karakteristiek hun eigen weg gaan, nooit eerder hoorde ik de strijkers zo etherisch klinken. Tijdschrift voor Oude Muziek, January 1995 Die Italienische dient als zusätzlicher Bonus; durchsichtig, mit ebenfalls wieder unerhörten Orgel-Details. (...) Der Standard, June 1996