ENSEMBLE ALKYMIA PROGRAM NOTES

“Corderito de amor” is a villancico for corpus christi that might be inspired by the Agnus Dei. In a poetic and metaphorical text the composer (anonymous) uses figures of musical rhetoric illustrating a desperate search for inner peace. The verses are in duets, which is unusual, and the choir presents a solo tenor part in a dramatic writing. Elements of the Italian Baroque that demonstrate the desire for modernity of the composers of La Plata.

“Al Arma Valientes” is a Villancico for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Great heroic and valiant fresco of the life and work of Ignatius of Loyola, a very important figure in the region due to the strong presence of Jesuit communities in the city of La Plata and the missions. In the first part the verses narrate his injury, his healing and the foundation of the Jesuit order, while the second part is a polychoral Ode of the faithful that acclaim the warrior turned into a saint.

“El Regreso” was written on the poetess return home from a tour of several years. Originally from the city of Sucre, Matilde Cazasola is a leading figure in Bolivian literature. Her songs, cuecas and other texts are set to the rhythm of Bolivian dances.

“Peregrino solo - Soledad” is a villancico de corpus christi by an anonymous author. This piece has the peculiarity of a binary part in the middle and a catchy text that invites to dance. Soledad is a Cueca by Simeon Roncal, a choirmaster in Sucre at the turn of the 20th century. A secular text song, Roncal's compositions are important because they are among the first cuecas written in a collection of piano music.

“Resplandor” is by the composer Antonio Duran de la Mota, originally from the city of Potosi. Probably of mestizo origin, is one of the only non-Spanish composers who signed the works of the musical background of the cathedral of La Plata. This villancico has two voices for equal voices in a very metaphorical poem, like other mystical texts that describe revelations with sensuality.

“Salga el torillo” is Small Christmas scene in which the virgin is compared to a bullfighter. The bull, in the image of the traditions of the Middle Ages, is the image of the evil that threatens the child who arrives to a cold world and that she must save. The solos of the verses remind us of Monteverdian lines, while the chorus is reminiscent of popular tunes.

INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHIES

Mariana Delgadillo is a laureate of the VIII International Feniarco-Europacantat Competition, where she won First Prize. Passionate about ancient and contemporary music, she studied in France, Germany and Italy, working with many composers along the way. Mariana holds a Master's degree in vocal ensemble conducting and an Artist Diploma from the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon (CNSMD). In addition to directing the Ensemble Alkymia, she is a professor of Choral Conducting at the Conservatoire de Chalon sur Saone and is regularly invited to conduct recordings of Renaissance and Baroque music, to give master classes, and to prepare opera and oratorio choirs and children’s choruses. Mariana is also dedicated to work with the incarcerated through music intervention programs.

Lucie Minaudier obtained her DEM in opera in Macon in 2018. She then joined the Haute École de Musique de Genève, and in 2020 the Koninklijk Conservatorium of Brussels. Passionate about ensemble music, she sings with various groups and performs as a soloist in works such as Bach's St. John Passion, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Palmeri’s Misatango,and Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate, as well as in piano-vocal recitals. Lucie’s opera roles include Sister Constance in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites and a role in Jacques Iber’s Angélique.

After studying violin, Marie Remandet entered the early music singing class of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon with Marie-Claude Vallin, where she obtained a Master's degree in 2012. She has performed with the ensembles Sagittarius, Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu, and Il Concerto Soave, and today sings with numerous ensembles: Calliope-Voix de femmes, Spirito, the Capella Sanctae Crucis, La Française, Alkymia, Canticum Arcum, La Fenice, and Pygmalion. Her recordings as a soloist include the disc Zuguambé with the Capella Sanctae Crucis, and Pour la duchesse du Maine with the ensemble La Française.

Florence Grasset studied at the Haute École de Musique de Genève-Neuchâtel, graduating with a Bachelors degree and a Masters in opera. Florence attended the Centre de Musique Ancienne de Genève where she studied the interpretation of baroque music with Gabriel Garrido and Leonardo García Alarcón. Florence performs regularly in concert as a soloist or in choral ensembles across French-speaking Switzerland. Her operatic roles include La Musica in Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo with the Ouverture Opéra company, and Lucy in the lyrical show Dracula, drinker of sounds.

Giulia Valentini graduated with a degree in opera singing from the A.Casella Conservatory in L'Aquila (Italy), and holds a Masters in Medieval Music from the Haute of Music of Geneva. The recipient of the 2016 Young Talent prize at the Arte in Canto competition of Basciano, Giulia has performed on the stages of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini and the Palazzo Grimani in Venice, L'Arsenal de Metz, the Samos Young Artists Festival in Greece, the Théâtre Casino de Morges, and the Cathédrale de Genève.

Alina Delgadillo began her career as a dancer in Bolivia and in the USA, and before completing a Master's degree in interpretation at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM). Her work as a vocal soloist has taken her to the Edinburgh Festival, the Abbey of Sylvanes, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, and London's Kings Place in London. Alina’s operatic roles include Mrs. Nolan in Menotti's The Medium, Christique in Eischemberg's Glaire (a production which toured throughout Sweden), Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte with the Weimar Opera Studio, and is a member of the Berlin Opera Academy. Alina is also active in early and contemporary music, singing with Ensemble Alkymia and Polhymnia as well as in large choral productions.

A trumpet player with a Masters in art history, Laure Ilef earned a second Master’s degree in opera at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon (CNSMD). Her opera credits include Clarina in La Cenerentola, Geneviève in Pelléas et Melisande, and Mme Barneck in Auber’s L'ambassadrice. Passionate about collective practice and contemporary creation, she collaborates with many ensembles including La Tempête, Les Cris de Paris and Ensemble Alkymia. In 2015, Laure founded L'Odéon d'Agrippa, an opera company dedicated to developing projects staged around the voice.

Davy Cornillot began his musical training at a young age, studying piano, accompaniment, singing, writing, and choral conducting. He earned a Master's degree at the CNSMD of Lyon and has since developed a passion for early music. At home in the German baroque repertoire and in particular the music of J.S. Bach, Davy regularly interprets the role of the Evangelist in the Passions. Today he can be heard on many national and international stages, both as an ensemble and as a soloist.

Sebastian Delgado was a resident at the Le Centre National d'Insertion Professionnelle d'Artistes Lyriques (CNIPAL) in Marseille, and attended the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève. He is a graduate of the Ecole normale de Paris and former member of the Toulouse Opera Studio. His many roles include Blint in Die Fledermaus and Dancaïre in Carmen with Opera Marseille and Avignon, MacHeath in Die Dreigroschenoper in Switzerland, and Stefan Grögler in Henri at the Théâtre de l'Athénée. Sebastian is regularly invited to the Claude Terrasse Festival to perform Orpheus in Les travaux d'Hercule and Bézar in La Fiancée du Scaphandrier and has acted in Les misérables in Shanghai and Xi'an Operas.

Guillaume Frey began studying music at the age of 8 by joining the Colmar boys' choir directed by Arlette Steyer. He began vocal studies at the Conservatoire National de Région of Strasbourg and then moved on to the CNSM of Lyon where he completed a Master’s degree and participated in numerous stage productions, including in works by Offenbach, Martinu, Rossini, Strauss, and Purcell. Passionate about chamber music, he sings in a number of professional ensembles including Les Cris de Paris, Spirito, and Ensemble Alkymia. Future engagements include performances in Lyon, Milan, Tourcoing (France) and with the Paris Opera.

A multi-instrumentalist dedicated to music research, Isaure Lavergne studied at the Conservatoire de Versailles (CRR) and the CNSMD of Lyon. She explored the family of the bassoon, from Renaissance to Classical period. Passionate about unpublished works and little-known instruments, she devotes herself to the study of the French flageolet and the cornet à bouquin. She also undertook various research works and transcriptions. Isaure co-founded the ensemble Libera me, and experimented with different forms of concerts. Very attached to the practice of orchestra, she plays under the direction of Hervé Niquet, Vincent Dumestre, Jean-Marc Aymes, Dominique Daigremont, Jean-Christophe Cadau, Sébastien d'Hérin or François Bazola.

Etienne Galletier was awarded the First Prize in classical guitar by the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris (CNR de Paris), and earned a Diploma of Specialization from the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona and a Masters in Early Music with Honors in theorbo from the CNSMD de Lyon. Etienne plays guitar, theorbo, archlute and baroque guitar, performing regularly with a number of early music ensembles. His performance credits include Monteverdi's Orfeo with Campra's Carnival of Venice, and a continuing collaboration with the Georgian Sinfonietta in Tbilisi. Etienne can be heard in Marcello's Psalms with the English vocal ensemble VOCES 8 and with Patrick Ayrton on the SIGNUM label.

Nolwenn Le Guern specialized in viola da gamba at CNSMD of Lyon where she earned a Masters in interpretation, completed a thesis on the music of court masks in the early XVII and became a laureate of the Société Générale patronage foundation. She is currently a researcher at a number of institutions including the University of Pavia, Milan, and the Collège de France, her work contributing to highly acclaimed discographic projects. Nolwenn performs worldwide and regularly works in theater and experimental concerts that mix ancient and contemporary creations. She records for various labels such as Aéon, Ricercar, Alpha Classic and is a frequent guest on France Musique in "Le matin des musiciens" and "L'été des festivals".

Nicolas Muzy earned a Gold Medal in classical guitar and a State Diploma as a teacher of guitar. After practicing traditional music from the Andes and Argentina, he studied theorbo, ancient guitar, and lute at the CNSMD of Lyon, and in 2010 founded an ensemble dedicated to 17th-century chamber music. He taught at the Centre Culturel de Rencontre d'Ambronay, and the Conservatoire de Chambéry, where he was Coordinator of the Early Music department. Nicolas currently performs with several early music ensembles, including Les Nouveaux Caractères, Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu, Ensemble Alkymia, le Tendre Amour, and Les Arts Florissants.

Julien Pellegrini trained at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Nice (CRR de Nice) and the CNSMD of Lyon. His Artist Diploma projects questioned the link between gesture and sound through a re-adaptation of Stockhausen's Mikrophonie and the exploration of motion capture in the creation of "Kicoju - the Game" which received the designation of Creation in Progress (a program to support young artists in residence at schools and colleges that are farthest from cultural offerings). Currently Professor at the Regional Conservatory of Rennes, he created a popular course on electro-acoustic improvisation while performing regularly as a percussionist in national orchestras across France. Julien is a musical director for Ensemble Alkymia. co-founder of the dance, music, and new technologies collective, Oyun Kollektiv Ensemble, and created and managed an ensemble for the Printemps des Arts Festival in Monaco.

Passionate about the early keyboard repertoire, Kazuya Gunji studied harpsichord at the CNSM of Lyon, and became the first prize winner (2nd prize ex aequo) at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges in 2010. He performs and records with several renowned orchestras and ensembles and was invited to the Radio France Occitanie Festival as a soloist in the Scarlatti 555 project, a new recording of the complete works. He shares his passion for the harpsichord and basso continuo at the CNSM of Lyon and the CRR of Lyon as an accompanist for the Baroque singing courses.