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Craig Zeichner
I N JUST 10 YEARS , the French Canadian label ATMA Classique has established itself as an innovative and energetic voice on the classical music scene. ATMA (named after the Sanskrit word for soul) has a growing catalog of more than 230 titles, many of them devoted to early music.
"Montreal is something of a hotbed for early music, and I began the label with Les Voix Humaines [featuring gambists Susie Napper and Margaret Little]," says president Johanne Goyette. The strong core of Canadian talent is one of the elements that makes ATMA a vital voice on the early music scene. The label also records sopranos Karina Gauvin and Suzie LeBlanc, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the ensembles Les Boréades, La Nef, and Les Violons du Roy.
"It's a Canadian label that's Montreal-based, but I don't want it to be solely about Montreal. We are part of the global village. There are many artists with my label who tour internationally and bring musicians from other countries to our recordings," Goyette continues. "For example, I recorded Les Voix Humaines with Barthold Kuijken, and the countertenor Daniel Taylor with the English soprano Emma Kirkby."
Goyette took the...
