the beautiful musical journey between France and Italy of the young baroque ensemble La Mandorle

The four musicians who make up the ensemble stopped off in Ambronay before going on residencies in European countries.

This is one of the particularities of the Ambronay Festival in Ain, to program, alongside the stars of the baroque, young talents. Thus, on Sunday September 15 at 11 am, the Monteverdi hall was full to welcome a still unknown ensemble – probably not for long.

Its name, La Mandorle, evokes in Italian the almond shape of the shell of the theorbo, this large baroque lute with a long neck, an instrument at the heart of the ensemble, which provides the basso continuo, in place of the usual harpsichord.

A successful attempt for the four young musicians (with theorbist Élodie Brzustowski, there are the Sors sisters, Clotilde on the violin and Camille on the cello, and Victoire Delnatte on the oboe), the love at first sight was immediate with a family audience carried away by the incredible energy transmitted.

And by the good idea of ​​programming: a journey in the first quarter of the 18th century between France and Italy, two countries which, before opposing each other head-on (around 1750) for their musical traditions, inspired each other. It is this spirit that the musicians highlight.

With, for example, this joyful piece by Louis Nicolas Clérembault, at the crossroads of influences. “It’s called Happiness, “You can’t get a more French title than this, it’s presented as a sonata – Italian style, therefore – and looks very much like a French dance suite.”explains Élodie Brzustowski.

“The fact that all the movements follow one another without stopping is very Italian, but the titles of the movements are mixed: Italian (like allegro or piano) and French (lentement or lent)”. Are you following us?

On stage, the journey is commented and explained by the instrumentalists with a sense of transmission and a little lightness. Here we are in Italy, this time, with a little-known early piece by Vivaldi – the Trio Sonata RV 820 –, where the cellist and the violinist (the two sisters) confront each other with passion in a tasty joust, especially in the allegro and presto movements.

“Here, it’s completely Italian, very virtuoso, with a lot of ornamentation. There’s a lot of room for the cello, an instrument born in Italy and at that precise moment, not very common in France.”says Élodie Brzustowski, who speaks to us as the spokesperson for the group. The public is asking for more.

Another instrument brings us back to France, this famous theorbo rarely featured in a solo part (because it is most often used for the bass). The game is worth the candle in this pretty prelude to a suite by Robert de Visée, once a famous musician and guitar teacher to Louis XIV. Transcribed by the musicians of La Mandorle (all qualified to teach) for bass and two treble (violin and oboe) instead of just one, the suite has thus become somewhat “Italianized”.

Understand embellished with virtuosity: the same one that we find in the last piece proposed, a trio sonata in G minor by Handel, a vibrant dialogue between the violin and the oboe. Warmth and gaiety. We know that the German musician, who made a large part of his career in London, was largely marked by his stay in Rome, influenced in particular by Corelli.

“It clearly shows the circulation of ideas throughout Europe.”concludes Élodie Brzustowski. The ensemble La Mandorle was invited to perform at the Ambronay Festival after successfully passing the auditions for the European “S-eeemerging” program for emerging groups in April in these same venues. The European adventure can begin for the four musicians.