Mathieu Lussier: Arion Baroque Orchestra: The French Connection

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The Life of an Orchestra: From Embryo to Adulthood

Comprising some 20 musicians playing on 18th-century instruments, more than 30 critically acclaimed recordings, adorned with numerous awards and international tours, the Arion Baroque Orchestra is a major figure in Quebec’s Early Music scene. Artistic director since 2019, bassoonist Mathieu Lussier recounts the evolution of the ensemble founded in 1981.

“Arion was born at a time when many Quebec musicians were going to study Early Music in The Hague, Netherlands, to acquire experience and knowledge not existent in Quebec. Returning with precious new expertise, they founded their own ensembles to promote Baroque music in Montreal.” In the 1970s and 1980s, the Netherlands was the mecca of Early Music, with pioneers like Frans Brüggen, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the three Belgian Kuijken brothers, and Gustav Leonhardt. The Baroque scene in Montreal was evolving rapidly around that time. In this Early Music incubator, Claire Guimond (flute), Chantal Rémillard (violin), Betsy MacMillan (viola da gamba), and Hank Knox (harpsichord) founded the Ensemble Arion. For about 15 years, Arion became known through tours, recordings, and concerts—sometimes in collaboration with other artists. With the necessary administrative and economic support, Ensemble Arion decided to change its name to become Arion Baroque Orchestra—an ensemble directed exclusively by guest conductors.

Enter Mathieu Lussier

Mathieu Lussier.

Lussier joined Arion as a bassoonist in the late 1990s, at a time when Montreal was becoming recognized as a hub for Early Music in North America, alongside Toronto, San Francisco, Boston, and Cleveland. “My first concert with the ensemble was with Barthold Kuijken, one of the three brothers who had transformed the international Baroque music scene,” Lussier recalls. “During my years as a bassoonist with Arion, I had the privilege that Claire noticed my ideas and energy. I assisted her in artistic direction for a few years,” says Lussier. It was Claire Guimond who encouraged Lussier to conduct a program for the first time in January 2008 and who entrusted him with her succession at the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival in New Brunswick. One of the precious few orchestras playing on period instruments in Montreal at that time, Arion distinguished itself through collaborations with international soloists and conductors. “We had big names come in from England, the Netherlands, and France, such as conductors and violinists Daniel Cuiller, Monica Huggett, and Roy Goodman, or Jaap ter Linden (cello and viola da gamba). It was like a laboratory for us,” says Lussier.

Arion Baroque Orchestra. Photo: Matthew Perrin.

A French-Inspired Artistic Direction

Following a short absence from the orchestra, during which he worked intensively with Les Violons du Roy, the Ensemble Pentaèdre, and joined the Faculty of Music at the University of Montreal, Mathieu Lussier returned to Arion as co-artistic director in 2019. Since then, he has committed to maintaining Arion’s unique model—an orchestra led mainly by guest conductors—while conducting between a third to a half of each season’s concerts. Since his arrival, Arion Baroque Orchestra has moved toward French repertoire from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. “I have a strong interest in French repertoire around the French Revolution,” explains Lussier. His inspiration to promote French Baroque heritage within the Arion orchestra stems from the activities of the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles (CMBV) in France. “I think of it as a way to distinguish Arion in a thriving ecosystem, but also to signal that exciting things are happening in France with respect to a repertoire that is part of Quebec’s francophone cultural heritage,” he adds. Thanks to a significant partnership with Atma Classique, Arion Baroque Orchestra produces numerous recordings, including three albums released over the last year. In collaboration with the CMBV, the first album released in 2023 is titled Les soupers du Roy and includes works by Rameau, Francoeur, Blamont, Destouches, and Delalande. A second collaboration saw the release of an album in 2024 dedicated to the music of Henri-Joseph Rigel, a German-born composer who made his career in Paris. Finally, a third album features the French composer Hélène de Montgeroult (1764–1836), in collaboration with Quebec pianist Élisabeth Pion.

A Passion That Travels

“These recordings firmly establish our commitment to the French repertoire and our desire to showcase it worldwide,” says Lussier. This mission will continue during the ensemble’s upcoming European tour in December 2024, with concerts in France and Switzerland. Playing on Baroque instruments brings significant challenges. “If we dedicate ourselves to making music with instruments that require constant fine-tuning and with scores that sometimes lack information about the performance, it’s because, behind all this, there are dedicated hearts and minds who are passionate about this repertoire,” he says.