Destined to be musicians?

On Destinees, the female composers to whom Baroque violinist Sophie de Bardonneche pays tribute enjoyed very different fates. While the name Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729) continued to be remembered, who knows Mlle Duval (born around 1718), the second woman to have a work presented at the Paris Opera and nicknamed ‘la Legende’ in her time? Her opera-ballet, Les Genies, remains a testament to her great mastery.

Then there were Anne-Madeleine Guesdon de Presles and Elisabeth-Louise Pellecier, composers married to composers – the latter signed her works with the name of her husband, Papavoine… Others found it easier to achieve the limelight because they were aristocrats, like Mlle de Menetou (1679-1745).

No fewer than ten female composers are brought back to life in this programme of sonatas, overtures and dances devised by Sophie de Bardonneche, a founder member of Le Consort, who is accompanied on her first solo album by her partners Lucile Boulanger and Justin Taylor.

Sophie de Bardonnèche, Violin
Lucile Boulanger, Viola da Gamba
Justin Taylor, Harpsichord