«Arcana
propose one possible response to the dominant thinking nowadays
that makes
music subservient to the dictates of the market: the fluctuations
of fashion, fleeting fancies and confusion of values have taken
the place of the quest for art and beauty. Our approach is the
antidote to that commonplace mentality. At Arcana, music is
existential. We seek to broaden the repertoire, distinguishing
masterpieces form trivial works. We select those artist whose
sensibility, skill and influence create new forms of beauty,
and we place at their disposal a philosophy of unique sound
to reproduce their message with the least possible bit of artifice.
The trueness of timbres, the dynamics of the performance and
spatial projection are the determining elements for avoiding
a feeling of stilted music-making and enhancing the life of
the sound without which no restitution attains its point of
persuasion».
Michel Bernstein
One
of the best-reputed classical music record labels from France,
Arcana was founded in Nantes in 1992 by publisher and producer
Michel Bernstein, who had previously set up
Astrée. Born in Paris in 1931, Michel Bernstein became
one of the most respected figures in the European music industry.
He died in October 2006.
Arcana’s roster of artists included some of the biggest names
on the international music
scene, such as Gunar Letzbor, Paul Badura-Skoda, Enrico Gatti,
Rinaldo Alessandrini, the
Kuijken family, La Reverdie, Mala Punica, the Festetics Quartet,
Crawford Young and Ferrara Ensemble, as well as an impressive
line-up of new talents from the younger
generation. Innovative repertoire, often based on ground-breaking
research, together with the authoritative musicology that underpins
the lavish liner notes: these are the
acknowledged hallmarks of the label.
Since January 2008, Arcana is managed by the Italian company
551 Media.
