Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz

The Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz

Éditions Labatiaz & Frédy Henry Éditions

After leading Éditions Labatiaz for 50 years, Michel Roulin handed over the reins to Janique Cheseaux and Grégoire May in the summer of 2022. Six months later, in January 2023, Frédy Henry from the eponymous editions placed his trust in them. Following a period of restructuring and internal reorganization, August 1, 2023 officially marks the beginning of Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz.

Our predecessors

Éditions Labatiaz

Michel Roulin

Éditions Frédy Henry

Frédy Henry

Our Vision

Rooted in a long tradition of French-speaking Swiss music publishing houses active since the late 19th century, Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz aims to contribute to preserving the musical heritage of this region while adopting a proactive stance in promoting the works of contemporary Swiss Romande composers. The history inherited by Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz is particularly rich, and it is this history that they are keen on highlighting.

Our repertoire, assembled through the creation of various publishing houses, is a testament to the unique character of Romandie artistic activity, which has been continuously developing since the early 19th century, forging an identity that is far from trivial. Situated geographically between Germany, France, and Italy, Switzerland has constantly constructed itself by drawing on the surrounding cultural influences, including a tradition of translation deeply embedded in its culture. The case of the Romandie choral music is a prime example of this phenomenon: before 1800, Romandy had little to no choral singing, while musical folk traditions in France and Germany were quite distinct. France valued monodic singing, accompanied by instruments but not other voices, while Germany was influenced by the Lutheran musical heritage (1517), which introduced four-voice psalms to encourage congregational singing. This popular choral culture from Germany gradually spread to the Swiss German region, and later to Romandie. With the arrival of German pastor Jean Bernard Kaupert (1786-1863) in Morges in 1811, choral singing gained significant popularity in the region. Surprised by the fact that people sang very little and only in unison, Kaupert introduced them to the Germanic tradition. The enthusiasm was overwhelming, and the Romande choral culture was established. The repertoire of that time mainly consisted of translated German psalms. Over time, regional composers born in the second half of the 19th century began to compose new songs, still following the German four-voice structure but with a style of their own: a Romandie style.

Since then, many composers have contributed to maintaining and developing this repertoire and style through their music.

This musical heritage, its history, and its great value are what Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz aims to rekindle, preserve, and perpetuate. Our wish: to see Romande music regain its place of honor in the musical program!

See also:

- Jacques Burdet, La musique dans le canton de Vaud au XIX^e siècle, Lausanne, Payot, 1971

- Paul Budry, La Suisse qui chante. Histoire illustrée de la chanson populaire du chant choral et du festspiel en Suisse, Lausanne, Freudweiler-Spiro, 1932

Our Team

Grégoire May

General and Artistic Director

Hailing from Bagnes VS, Saint-Gall, and Prague, Grégoire May manages the general and artistic direction of Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz. A trained choir conductor and singer (Haute École de Musique de Genève and Zürcher Hochschule der Künste), he takes a keen interest in the history of any music he has the pleasure of working with. Passionate and a bit idealistic, he looks forward to shedding light on this lesser-known repertoire.

Janique Cheseaux

Head of Administration and Production

Both administration and production for Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz are overseen by Janique Cheseaux, hailing from Saint-Maurice. After completing her polygraph apprenticeship at Imprimerie Saint-Augustin (1988-1992), she worked as a production manager at various printing centers (Groupe Mutuel, Centre Rhodanien d’Impression) before embarking on a career in music publishing in 2022 at Éditions Labatiaz, which later became Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz.

Mathieu Constantin

In charge of musical engravings

Musical engraving at Éditions Henry Labatiaz is overseen by Mathieu Constantin. A classically trained guitar teacher and choir conductor, he specialized in musical engraving through composition and arrangement. Various assignments (Guy Kummer-Nicolussi) allowed him to gain extensive experience and a wide network that benefits Éditions musicales Henry Labatiaz.