Le Consort
VIDEO
PRESS ACCLAIM
REPERTOIRE
Theotime Langlois de Swarte & Sophie de Bardonneche, violins; Hanna Salzenstein, cello; Justin Taylor, harpsichord
Program for March 11-25, 2026
A trio sonata soirée
Le Consort invites you to the baroque era, in which the trio Sonata was the most popular chamber music formation. This whirlwind program will spotlight examples by famous composers such as Bach and Telemann, alongside some unjustly neglected Baroque masters, illustrating the immense expressive range and creativity of this repertoire. With a few strokes of the two violins and cello bows and animation of the harpsichord’s keys, let yourself be teleported from the Venice of Albinoni and Gentili to the Naples of Porpora, with a visit to Telemann and Bach in Germany. The program concludes with a magnificent setting of “Follia” - the era's most recognizable melody, and one which still resonates today. A great journey awaits you!
Program:
Michel-Pignolet de Montéclair: Plainte for 2 violins
Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751): Sonata prima, op. 1
Giorgio Gentili (1669-1737): Sonata prima, op.1
Nicola Porpora (1686-1768): Trio sonata op 2, no 3
Telemann: Sonata in D Major for cello and basso continuo
Telemann: Trietto in D Major TWV 42 : D2
Telemann: Corellisierende Sonaten (Sonata III)
Biber: Passacaglia for solo violin
JS Bach: Trio sonata in G-Major, BWV 1039
JS Bach: Larghetto BWV 972
Francesco Geminiani: La Follia
JUNE 2024
BIOGRAPHY
Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin
Sophie de Bardonnèche, violin
Hanna Salzenstein, cello
Justin Taylor, harpsichord
(also Louise Pierrard, viola da gamba - not on 25/26 North American tour)
Le Consort, a leading baroque chamber ensemble, comprises four young musicians who interpret the trio sonata repertoire with enthusiasm, sincerity, and modernity. The group’s mission is to bring together compelling musical personalities in the service of chamber music from the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. From Corelli to Vivaldi, from Purcell to Couperin, the dialogue between the two violins and the basso continuo displays a wealth of contrasts between vocality, sensuality and virtuosity. Le Consort takes this genre, the quintessence of baroque chamber music, and interprets it with a personal, dynamic, and colorful language.
With a core which has remained constant since their founding in 2016, Le Consort performances approach a level of musical integration typically found in long-standing string quartets. In 2017 they claimed First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Loire Valley International Early Music Competition, chaired by William Christie. Their most recent recording, of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, was praised by BBC Magazine for “a sound of such transparency that details often stifled in other performances emerge with glassy clarity” and “such vaporous beauty it will leave your sinking heart floating on clouds.” Their previous recording, Philarmonica, was hailed by Gramophone for “historically informed performance worn so naturally, and works known so intimately, that these musical stories could have come from Le Consort's own pens and souls.” Their earlier recordings, including OPUS 1 (featuring the unpublished sonatas of Jean-François Dandrieu), and Specchio Veneziano (trio sonatas of Vivaldi alongside music of his less familiar contemporary, Giovanni Reali), have earned numerous awards and extensive critical acclaim.
Their tenth anniversary season will be an international celebration, including their BBC Proms debut, an anniversary concert in Paris at Venue Salle Gaveau, their first opera (Iphigénie en Tauride) at Paris Opera Comique, a tour of Spain, and another of South Korea and Japan. In March 2026, they will return to North America for a nine-city tour that includes performances in Boston, New York, and Denver. They will also continue to perform their Vivaldi Four Seasons program throughout Europe.
Le Consort is in residence at the Montpellier National Opera Orchestra.
May 2025 – please discard any previously or undated versions