Ensemble Masques - France

Renowned as much for its expressiveness and vitality as for its integrity and precision, the Masques ensemble fully embodies the multiplicity of the Baroque spirit. The core members of the ensemble each pursue solo careers and perform with prestigious international early music ensembles. They are regularly joined by other instrumentalists who share the same desire to bring out the full expressive potential of the repertoire they perform.

Since its creation, the Masques Ensemble has deliberately chosen to explore different repertoires from the 17th and 18th centuries, rather than limiting itself to a single style or genre. This curiosity, which is inseparable from its identity, reflects the reality of composition in the Baroque era, where influences intersect and blend. It has led the Ensemble to delve deeper into 17th-century German music, to reveal Telemann's universalism and humanism, to take an interest in the initiatory journey of the “Grand Tour”, all artistic choices underpinned by a taste for exchange, mixing, borrowing and cross-fertilisation, as evidenced by the variety of nationalities of the musicians who make up the Ensemble.

The Masques Ensemble regularly participates in concert series and festivals in Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. It has also toured most major cities in Canada and the United States, including New York, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. Its upcoming projects include concerts at Les Folles Journées de Nantes and the Via Aeterna Festival, at the Cité de la Voix in Vézelay, at the Beaune Baroque Opera Festival, at the Utrecht Early Music Festival, at the Festival de la Roque d'Anthéron, at AMUZ, at the Hamburg Philharmonic, and many others.

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An exclusive artist on the ALPHA label, his numerous recordings have been unanimously acclaimed by critics, receiving the Diapason d'Or, Telerama's ffff, Classica's “Chocs” as well as Gramophone Magazine's “Editor's Choice” and “Gramophone Award”. In July 2025, a recording of J.S. Bach's violin concertos, performed by violinist Sophie Gent, will be released, followed in early 2026 by a CD devoted to transcriptions for two harpsichords of Baroque instrumental music with Olivier Fortin and Emmanuel Frankenberg. In November 2025, the Ensemble Masques will record a programme of instrumental music by Jean-Philippe Rameau, to be released in 2027.

The Ensemble is supported by the DRAC Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, the Saône-et-Loire department, the CNM, the SPEDIDAM and the ADAMI. Ensemble Masques is a member of the FEVIS and PROFEDIM.