La Petite Bande

La Petite Bande (Sigiswald Kuijken) La Petite Bande is a Belgian musical ensemble specialized in Baroque music played on period instruments. It owes its reputation mainly to the recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel and Bach1'2, among many others, in which it has been committed since 1972 to reviving music in the respect of the old tradition both in level of the game than the sound. It remains true to this commitment today. Her numerous concerts and participations in festivals lead her everywhere around the world. The ensemble was first recorded in 1972 by Sigiswald Kuijken, initially for the sole purpose of recording Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, Lully's comedy-ballet, under the direction of Gustav Leonhardt for the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi label. The ensemble received its name from the Little Band of Violins by the King of Lully, an orchestra for 21 string instruments at the Court of Louis XIV3'4. The core group of the original group consisted of Leonhardt Consort together with Sigiswald Kuijken and his brothers Wieland and Barthold5. After the recording, and the immediate success achieved, the band began giving numerous concerts across Europe and soon became a permanent ensemble based in Leuven under the direction of Kuijken. His starting repertoire was centered around French Baroque music, but very quickly were included Italian and German composers (notably Corelli, Handel and Bach). Gradually, he expanded from Baroque to classical period with concerts and recordings of works by Mozart and Haydn. The recording of Haydn's The Creation in 1982 is the earliest recording of this work on old instruments3'6'7. The debut in the UK took place at the BBC Proms in 1982, with a concert of works by Bach, Handel and Rameau. Critic Barry Millington describes the concert in the Musical Times: "The band shows a touching attitude of indifference to any concert ritual: each instrumentalist is dressed differently. On the other hand, there is nothing fortuitous in their game: this is one of the most disciplined baroque ensembles of the moment "