» Lucile Boulanger
Viola da gamba
Biography
Lucile Boulanger had her first viola da gamba lessons at the age of five with Christine Plubeau, before continuing her studies with Ariane Maurette and later with Jérôme Hantaï. After further studies in Paris and Cergy she was accepted for Christophe Coin’s class at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, where she was awarded a diploma with distinction in 2009.
She has been a prize-winner at several international competitions including the International Viola da gamba Competition Bach–Abel in Köthen, the Società Umanitaria di Milano and Musica Antiqua Bruges.
Much sought-after as a chamber music partner, she has performed with numerous soloists and ensembles including Philippe Pierlot, François Lazarevitch (Les Musiciens de Saint Julien), Christophe Rousset, Alexis Kossenko and Hugo Reyne, and has also played with larger ensembles such as Ensemble Correspondances (Sebastien Daucé), Les Talens Lyriques (Christophe Rousset) and Pygmalion (Raphael Pichon).
Another focus is her involvement with several consorts, in particular the Ricercar Consort (P. Pierlot), L’Achéron (F. Joubert-Caillet) and Musicall Humors (J. Léonard).
She also regularly gives recitals. Her two duo CDs with the fortepianist and harpsichordist Arnaud De Pasquale on the Alpha label (a Bach recording in 2012, followed by an album of C.P.E. Bach and Graun in 2015) have received several awards in France: the Diapason découverte, Choc Classica, Coup de Cœur Charles Cros, ffff Télérama…
At the end of 2018 her debut CD on the Harmonia Mundi label was released with works by Forqueray.
"(...) Quite apart from this level of formal interest, Lucile Boulanger’s interpretation is flawless and impressive in every way. She is outstanding in her mastery of this subtle instrument. No virtuoso (violinistic) coloratura is too rapid for her, slow movements are played with deep emotion and sweeping melodic arcs, and her intonation is uniformly perfect. This is complemented by outstanding recording technology which reproduces the gamba sound with warmth, fullness and colour. Lucile Boulanger is accompanied by a continuo group of three, used with great variety and which also plays flawlessly. (...)"
rbb Kulturradio, Berhard Schrammek