Anima Eterna Brugge

Anima Eterna Brugge is an orchestra which was founded by Jos van Immerseel in 1987, and which is based in Bruges. Depending on its repertoire (which ranges from Monteverdi to Gershwin), it numbers from 7 to 80 musicians.

Anima Eterna recreates early (and not so early) music with a view to approximating as closely as possible the composer’s original intentions. Rather than archaeological, our purpose is to (re)acquaint music lovers with repertoire they are familiar with but estranged from through ahistorical performances. Building on a combination of research and passionate musicianship, we have rediscovered many highlights of the classical catalogue, from Mozart’s piano concertos over Strauss’ waltzes to Ravel’s Bolero.

In the exploratory phase which precedes each project, we find out which instruments inspired a composer, and how they may have sounded. In addition, we explore such variables as playing technique, pitch, tempo, and orchestral balance, but also other parameters which impact the sound of a composition, such as the acoustics of the hall in which it was premiered or subsequently played.

While this investigative attitude determines the essence of our approach, an equally (if not more) important factor is the curiosity, the passion, and the exceptional commitment of our musicians, who all are acknowledged specialists in their field. It is through the continuous interaction between these musicians and their conductor that Anima Eterna can make progress.

Jos van Immerseel

During the three decades of his carreer, pianist, harpsichordist, and conductor Jos van Immerseel has come to embody period performance practice in early (and not so early) music.

Jos van Immerseel has always explored historically informed music making from both sides of the coin. He is a passionate researcher who systematically investigates the relation(s) between composition, instrument, and playing technique for every concert or cd (building on his fine collection of historical keyboard instruments which spans two centuries).

Van Immerseel, however, is in the first place a musician, who reconstructs and recreates early music not for the museum, but for the sake of living music lovers, who all too often have grown accustomed to ahistorical travesties of a composer’s original intentions. According to Van Immerseel, “one cannot pay greater hommage to a composer than by taking his music seriously, in a performance which combines both freedom and duty”.

As a soloist Jos van Immerseel enjoys international recognition on the concert stage. His recordings have earned him various prestigious awards, including the Diapason d’Or, Le Choc du Monde de la Musique, and FFFF de Télérama.

In order to put his performance ideas into orchestral practice, Van Immerseel founded the period ensemble Anima Eterna in 1987. Anima Eterna is a project orchestra which convenes specialized musicians eight times per year to explore and perform a specific repertoire. With Anima, Jos has “rediscovered” many highlights of the classical catalogue, from Mozart’s piano concertos over the Strauss waltzes to Ravel’s Bolero.

Since 2002, Jos Van Immerseel is responsible for the Collection Anima Eterna for the Paris label Zig-Zag Territoires. Chamber music colleagues he regularly performs with are Claire Chevallier, Midori Seiler, Sergei Istomin and Thomas Bauer.

Anima Eterna is in residence in the Concertgebouw Brugge, and has a partnership with the city of Brugge.