Gérard Lesne

about

For Gérard Lesne, a straight line is not the shortest distance between two points. This self-taught musician's tastes initially drew him towards repertoires far removed from classical or Baroque music: his eclecticism attracted him to explore rock and jazz, then electronic music. As he met more and more musicians working in that area, he became fascinated by the medieval and Baroque repertoire. Among his earliest mentors, there was, first of all, René Clemencic who helped him discover, step by step and concert by concert, the beauty and expressiveness of Italian music. William Christie passed on to him his love of the French music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier and François Couperin. And, under the inspired direction of Philippe Herreweghe, he was initiated into the demanding world of German music and J. S. Bach. Then came the moment to spread his wings. With his ensemble Il Seminario Musicale which he founded in 1985, he adopted a different, more intimate approach to his preferred areas of the French and Italian repertoires, with a particular predilection for the contemplative atmosphere of church music. He and his ensemble have already recorded twenty-seven CDs, devoted to such composers as Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Caldara, Galuppi, Pergolesi, Handel, Charpentier, Couperin, Sébastien de Brossard, Clérambault, Bach, Bernier and Purcell. Many of these recordings have won prestigious prizes, including notably three Victoires de la Musique in 1993, 1995 and 1996.

top songs

albums

D'Amours Loial Servant - French and Italian Love Songs of the 14th-15th Centuries

O Lusitano

Purcell: O Solitude

Gérard Lesné - Ombra mai fu

▥

Stabat Mater - Pergolesi

Pergolesi: Stabat Mater

▥

100 Best Relaxing Classics

François Couperin: Office des Ténèbres

Human?

▥

Pergolese - Stabat Mater, Salve Regina

Bach: Arias & cantatas

Vivaldi/Galuppi: Motets

similar artists