The Golden Hour Lucile Boulanger, Simon Pierre, Olivier Fortin

• Jean-Marie Leclair (1697 - 1764): Trio Sonata in D Minor, Op. 4, No. 1:
• 1 Leclair: Trio Sonata in D Minor, Op. 4, No. 1: I. Adagio 03:21
• 2 Leclair: Trio Sonata in D Minor, Op. 4, No. 1: II. Allegro ma non tropo 02:50
• 3 Leclair: Trio Sonata in D Minor, Op. 4, No. 1: III. Largo 02:30
• 4 Leclair: Trio Sonata in D Minor, Op. 4, No. 1: IV. Allegro 02:25
• Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689 - 1755): Sonata No.6 in D Major, Op. 50:
• 5 Boismortier: Sonata No.6 in D Major, Op. 50: I. Largo 04:37
• 6 Boismortier: Sonata No.6 in D Major, Op. 50: II. Allegro 03:10
• 7 Boismortier: Sonata No.6 in D Major, Op. 50: III. Larghetto 02:07
• 8 Boismortier: Sonata No.6 in D Major, Op. 50: IV. Allegro 02:33
• Louis-Antoine Dornel (1680 - 1765): Trio Sonata in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 3:
• 9 Dornel: Trio Sonata in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 3: I. Prélude, Lentement 02:04
• 10 Dornel: Trio Sonata in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 3: II. Fugue, Gai 01:22
• 11 Dornel: Trio Sonata in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 3: III. Lentement et Doux 02:38
• 12 Dornel: Trio Sonata in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 3: IV. Chaconne Gracieuse 03:14
• Jean-Fery Rebel (1666 - 1747): 12 Violin Sonatas, Sonata in E Minor, No. 4:
• 13 Rebel: 12 Violin Sonatas, Sonata in E Minor, No. 4: I. Gracieusement 01:57
• 14 Rebel: 12 Violin Sonatas, Sonata in E Minor, No. 4: II. Viste 01:38
• 15 Rebel: 12 Violin Sonatas, Sonata in E Minor, No. 4: III. Récit - Gai 03:57
• 16 Rebel: 12 Violin Sonatas, Sonata in E Minor, No. 4: IV. Viste 01:42
• François Francœur (1698 - 1787): 12 Violin Sonatas, Livre 2, Sonata 12 in E Major:
• 17 Francœur: 12 Violin Sonatas, Livre 2, Sonata 12 in E Major: I. Adagio 03:10
• 18 Francœur: 12 Violin Sonatas, Livre 2, Sonata 12 in E Major: II. Courente 03:44
• 19 Francœur: 12 Violin Sonatas, Livre 2, Sonata 12 in E Major: III. Sicilienne 05:26
• 20 Francœur: 12 Violin Sonatas, Livre 2, Sonata 12 in E Major: IV. Rondeau 03:38
• Jean-Marie Leclair: Ouvertures and Trio Sonatas, Op. 13, Sonata No. 2 in B Minor:
• 21 Leclair: Ouvertures and Trio Sonatas, Op. 13, Sonata No. 2 in B Minor: I. Largo 03:23
• 22 Leclair: Ouvertures and Trio Sonatas, Op. 13, Sonata No. 2 in B Minor: II. Allegro ma non tropo 03:06
• 23 Leclair: Ouvertures and Trio Sonatas, Op. 13, Sonata No. 2 in B Minor: III. Largo 01:58
• 24 Leclair: Ouvertures and Trio Sonatas, Op. 13, Sonata No. 2 in B Minor: IV. Allegro 02:50
• Total Runtime 01:09:20

Info for The Golden Hour

We are around the time of the Regency, at the political crossroads between Louis XIV and Louis XV. The viola da gamba was enjoying its last hours of glory in France, while the violin was beginning to take centre stage.

The Golden Hour, which generally refers to the periods after sunrise and before sunset when the light changes, evokes here those years of convergence, even confrontation, between a viola da gamba in the twilight of its life and a violin at the dawn of its soloist destiny.

Lucile Boulanger, viola da gamba
Simon Pierre, violin
Olivier Fortin, harpsichord

Lucile Boulanger
Beginning her first viola da gamba lessons at the age of five with Christine Plubeau, Lucile Boulanger continued her studies with Ariane Maurette, Jérôme Hantaï, and finally Christophe Coin at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMD). She has won many prizes at prestigious international competitions, such as the Bach-Abel Competition in Köthen, the Concorso della Società Umanitaria in Milan, and the Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges.

Greatly in demand as a chamber music artist, she has appeared and also recorded with Philippe Pierlot, François Lazarevitch, Justin Taylor, Alice Piérot, L’Achéron (the ensemble directed by François Joubert-Caillet) and many others. She also regularly performs with larger ensembles such as Pygmalion (Raphaël Pichon), Correspondances (Sébastien Daucé), Vox Luminis (Lionel Meunier) and Les Epopées (Stéphane Fuget).

She gives frequent solo recitals, in France and elsewhere. Her two duo recordings for the Alpha label with Arnaud De Pasquale at the keyboard (a Bach Sonata album in 2012, and works by C.P.E Bach and Graun in 2015) have been widely acclaimed.

In 2018 her solo album on harmonia mundi, devoted to Forqueray and his passion for the Italian violin sonata, prompted one reviewer to write: ’Sometimes it is the sheer energy that bowls you over, sometimes a caress that makes you tremble, or a naked display of emotion that suddenly overwhelms you – but there is also an equal amount of precision and consistency throughout.’ BBC Music Magazine’s summed up the Forqueray CD with the word ‘irresistible’, comparing its sense of freedom in performance to that of Jacqueline du Pré.

Refusing to view the viola da gamba as the mere vessel of a bygone aesthetic tradition, in her concert programmes Lucile Boulanger aims at expanding and emancipating her instrument’s repertoire, not only through transcriptions, but also by commissioning contemporary works – and many such new works have already been dedicated to her.

Simon Pierre
Born in Bordeaux, Simon Pierre entered the Pierre Rode violin school in Gradignan in 1994. His teacher was Robert Papavrami, with whom he studied for 13 years. Already at a young age, his interest in early music (G.F. Haendel, A. Corelli, G. Tartini, and especially the music of J.S. Bach) led him to discover baroque violin in 2007, when he met François Fernandez at a course in Les Arcs in the Alps.

He went on to study modern violin and baroque violin with Guillaume Rebinguet-Sudre at the Bordeaux Conservatoire in the 3rd cycle, and organ in the 1st cycle. His love of early eighteenth-century music soon led him to choose early music.

This taste influenced his entry into Odile Edouard's class at the CNSMD in Lyon in 2010, where he is currently a student. At the CNSMD, he has met the likes of Chiara Banchini, Marianne Müller, Rolf Lislevand, Alessandro Moccia, Susan Scholtz and Roel Dieltiens. In addition, for two years he was a member of Il Delirio Fantastico, a baroque ensemble formerly based in Lyon that specialised in the performance of cantatas by J.S. Bach. He also took part in masterclasses in 2013, notably with Pierre Hantaï and Amandine Beyer during an academy at Royaumont on J.S. Bach's sonatas for violin and harpsichord, and then with Enrico Onofri at Ambronay.

Olivier Fortin
graduated with distinction from the Québec Conservatory in 1995. He continued his training with Dom André Laberge, obtained a Master Degree from University of Montreal under the direction of Réjean Poirier, and received several scholarships for studies in Paris with Pierre Hantai and in Amsterdam with Bob van Asperen.

In 1997 he was awarded top prizes at the Montreal Bach Competition and the Bruges Festival. Olivier Fortin is in demand as a soloist and chamber musician, touring and recording throughout Europe, China and South Korea, the United States and Canada with Masques, Capriccio Stravagante and Tafelmusik.

He also performs with Skip Sempé and Pierre Hantaï in programs of music for two and three harpsichords. From 2004-08 he taught harpsichord and chamber music at the Conservatoire de Musique de Québec, and he currently teaches at the Tafelmusik Summer Institute in Toronto.

Booklet for The Golden Hour