Il Seminario Musicale is a baroque music ensemble founded in 1985 by the French countertenor

Gérard Lesne Gérard Lesne (; born 15 July 1956) is a French countertenor. He is also the founder and artistic director of the baroque music ensemble, Il Seminario Musicale. Life and career Gérard Lesne was born in Montmorency, Val-d'Oise. He was originall ...

, who is also its artistic director. Since 1990, the group has been resident of the Fondation de l' abbaye de Royaumont, thirty kilometres north of Paris. Their repertoire centers around 17th- and 18th-century Italian and French music, including that of

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

, Cavalli,

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

Couperin The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Coup ...

and

Charpentier Charpentier () is the French language, French word for "carpenter", and it is also a French surname; a variant spelling is Carpentier. In English, the equivalent word and name is "Carpenter (surname), Carpenter"; in German, "Zimmermann (disambigua ...

. Past and current members of the ensemble include Marc Minkowski,

Fabio Biondi Fabio Biondi (born 15 March 1961) is an Italian violinist and conductor. He is a specialist in Baroque and early music. Biography Born in Palermo, Sicily, Biondi had a late start, having never even held a violin till age 11, but by the follo ...

, Blandine Rannou,

Bruno Cocset Bruno Cocset (born in 1963 in France) is one of the most influential baroque cello players of this century. After studying in National Conservatory of Tours, he received classes from Anner Bylsma, Jaap Schröder and Christophe Coin. He has worked ...

, Patrick Cohën-Akenine, Florence Malgoire, Benjamin Perrot, Anne-Marie Lasla and Violaine Cochard. Il Seminario Musicale has released almost 30 recordings with EMI-

Virgin Classics Virgin Classics was a record label founded in 1988 as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Records. The unit, along with EMI Classics, was acquired by Universal Music in 2012 as part of the takeover of the EMI Group, however the terms of the Europea ...

and Naïve. Amongst the prizes they have received are the French "Diapason d'or" and the "

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

". The ensemble is supported by French Ministry of Culture and Communication, DRAC Ile-de-France, and the Conseil Général du Val d’Oise.

References

External links

Il Seminario Musicale page
at the Fondation de l'abbaye de Royaumont (in English)
Ensemble Il Seminario Musicale
on Goldberg - The Early Music Portal. Early music groups Musical groups established in 1985 1985 establishments in France Erato Records artists {{Classical-ensemble-stub