Joel Cohen (musician)

Joel Cohen (born 1942) is an American musician known for his work in the field of early music, particularly medieval, Renaissance, and early American repertoires. He served as the director of the Boston Camerata from 1968 to 2008 and later became its Music Director Emeritus. In 1990, he founded the Camerata Mediterranea, a non-profit research institute incorporated in France in 2007.

1. 1. Early life and education

Cohen graduated from Classical High School in Providence, Rhode Island in 1959 and earned a degree from Brown University in 1963. He pursued graduate studies at Harvard University, where he studied composition with Randall Thompson and musicology with Gustave Reese, Nino Pirrotta, John Ward, and Elliot Forbes. He was awarded a Danforth Fellowship, which allowed him to spend two years in Paris studying under Nadia Boulanger.

1. 1. Career
      1. Boston Camerata

From 1968 to 2008, Cohen directed the Boston Camerata, a leading American early music ensemble. Under his leadership, the group produced numerous recordings and concert programs exploring medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early American music. His work with the Camerata contributed to a renewed interest in historical performance practice. After stepping down as director, he continued his association with the ensemble as Music Director Emeritus.

1. 1. 1. Camerata Mediterranea

In 1990, Cohen founded the Camerata Mediterranea, an ensemble dedicated to exploring musical exchanges between Europe and the Middle East. The organization became a non-profit research institute in France in 2007.

1. 1. 1. Work in early music

Cohen has organized and created numerous concert programs and recordings. His research has focused on both early American musical traditions, including Shaker music, and medieval European repertoires, often collaborating with Middle Eastern musicians. He has worked extensively with his wife, French soprano Anne Azéma, who became Artistic Director of the Boston Camerata in 2008.

1. 1. 1. Radio and media work

During the 1970s, Cohen produced musical radio programs for France Musique, a division of the French National Radio. He conceived the idea of an all-day musical celebration on the summer solstice, which inspired the creation of France's national Fête de la Musique, also known as "World Music Day."

1. 1. Work in European early music

Cohen initially focused on French Renaissance and English Renaissance music, later expanding into medieval and Baroque repertoires. His projects included the first early-instruments recording of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (1980) and a recording of Jean Gilles’ Requiem (1990). Many of his projects have been commissioned by institutions such as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

1. 1. Work in early American music

Cohen’s interest in American vernacular music began with his childhood lessons on steel-string acoustic guitar and his work as a jazz bassist during his student years. He was introduced to Sacred Harp music by Randall Thompson and inspired by the field recordings of Alan Lomax. His projects with the Boston Camerata on early American music include The Roots of American Music (1976) and the later recordings New Britain (1986), The American Vocalist, Trav'ling Home, and Liberty Tree.

1. 1. Cohen, the Boston Camerata, and the Shakers

Cohen conducted research on Shaker music at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in Maine. He collaborated with the Shaker community to record and perform their music, resulting in two albums, Simple Gifts and The Golden Harvest. In 2004, he worked with Finnish choreographer Tero Saarinen on Borrowed Light, a dance production featuring live Shaker music, which toured internationally.

1. 1. Intercultural musical activities

Cohen’s work has explored musical exchanges between different cultures. His 1982 project The Sacred Bridge examined Jewish-Christian musical interactions during the Middle Ages. A 1997 collaboration with Moroccan musician Mohammed Briouel resulted in a recording of Cantigas de Santa Maria in Fez, Morocco, which won the Edison Prize in 2000. He has also worked with Turkish music ensemble Dünya and produced research on Mediterranean musical interactions.

1. 1. Awards and honors

Cohen has received multiple awards, including:

• Signet Society Medal (Harvard University)
• Howard Mayer Brown Award
• Erwin Bodky Award
• Georges Longy Award
• Grand Prix du Disque (France)
• Edison Award (Netherlands)
• Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France)
• Government-appointed artist-in-residence in the Netherlands (2000)

1. 1. Discography

1. 1. 1. With the Boston Camerata

• The American Vocalist
• Trav'ling Home: American Spirituals, 1770-1870
• The Liberty Tree: American Music 1776-1861
• Carmina Burana
• Musique Judeo-Baroque
• Nueva España
• The Sacred Bridge: Jews and Christians in Medieval Europe
• Simple Gifts: Shaker Chants and Spirituals
• The Golden Harvest: More Shaker Chants and Spirituals
• New Britain: The Roots of American Folksong
• Gilles' Requiem
• A Medieval Christmas
• A Baroque Christmas
• A Renaissance Christmas
• A Mediterranean Christmas
• An American Christmas

1. 1. 1. With the Camerata Mediterranea

• Cantigas of Alfonso el Sabio (with the Abdelkrim Rais Ensemble of Fez, Morocco, Edison Prize, 2000)

1. 1. References

1. 1. External links

• More complete discography
• Camerata Mediterranea Institute Wikipedia Page
• Camerata Mediterranea Institute Website
• Music of the Shakers