The Musicians
Marion Fermé receives her first musical training on the recorder and piano at the Schola Cantorum and the Conservatorium in Paris. After graduating in languages (English and Russian) at the Sorbonne University and political sciences (Sciences-Po) in Paris, she studies the recorder at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague in Peter van Heygen’s class. She gets her soloist diploma in early music in 2003. Because of her keen interest in medieval music she chooses to carry on her training with Pedro Memelsdorff and Pierre Hamon.
Marion is a founding member of the Haagse Courante ensemble which is dedicated to 17th and 18th century baroque music and a guest of many European festivals (Festival of Ambronay, Oude Muziek Utrecht Festival in Fringe, Printemps baroque du Sablon in Brussels, Festival Midis-Minimes in Belgium, Estivales d’orgue in Jura, Musica Antigua Festival in Barcelona in 2004...) Beside this, Marion cooperated with Luteduo to create La luth enchantée, an ensemble which regularly plays J.S Bach’s music in international festivals. Finally she is a member of the T’Andernaken Consort renaissance recorder trio who won the special prize of the Jury at Bruges international competition of early music in 2003.
As a soloist, Marion was awarded the 3d Prize at the International Solo Recorder Competition in Montreal in 2005. She also won the German and Austrian Gedok competition for contemporary music in 2005. She regularly gives solo recitals combining all repertoires on the recorder and is invited to play in early music ensembles such as Berlin Baroque or the Orchestre de Chambre de Versailles. Apart from her concert activities, Marion has the highest French pedagogical diploma for teaching early music (C.A.), and teaches the recorder in Hamburg where she has lived since 2004.
Anna Kowalska studied the lute with Toyohiko Satoh and Nigel North at the
Royal Concervatory in The Hague, in The Netherlands. Having been educated
as a classical guitarist as well, Anna has covered a vast repertoire from the Renaissance to late Baroque including 19th century repertoire for historical guitar. Her solo programmes include mostly works of French and German baroque lute composers such Gaultier, Du Fault, Gallot, Weichenberger, Weiss. Anna pays great attention to solo works of J.S. Bach, including her own transcriptions for baroque lute of sonatas and partitas for solo violin and an unaccompanied cello. As a continuo player she recently worked with Emma Kirkby, Teodor Kurentsis, Wladyslaw Klosiewicz and Tytus Wojnowicz (harpsicord and oboe, Poland), Marek Toporowski (harpsichord, “Concerto Polacco”, Poland), Anna Mikolajczyk (soprano, Poland), Nazar Kozhuhar (“The Pocket symphony”, Russia), Anatoly Grindenko and Viktor Sobolenko (viola da gamba, Russia). Anna is currently concentrating on the lute and baroque guitar as both a soloist and continuo player.
Anton Birula studied the lute with Prof. Toyohiko Satoh at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and with Prof. Konrad Junghaenel at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne. With his concentration on the extant solo literature for the baroque lute Anton Birula has performed numerous lute recitals featuring music of J.S.Bach, S.L. Weiss and the French lutenists. His special interests were transcriptions of J.S. Bach suites for solo cello and violin sonatas and partitas for the Baroque lute. As a theorbo player Anton Birula has performed a vast amount of musical literature with numerous ensembles, specializing in both vocal music by 17th century Italian and English composers and the viola da gamba music of Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray. His fascination for French viola da gamba music led him to a close cooperation with the Russian gambist Victor Sobolenko. In the year 2001 they recorded a CD with works of Marin Marais with theorbo as the only continuo instrument.
Anton has worked with such important soloists as Wladyslaw Klosiewicz (harpsichord), Nigel Kennedy (violin), Emma Kirkby (soprano), Marek Toporowski (harpsichord), Olga Paiecznik (soprano). During his long engagement at the Warsaw Chamber Opera Anton has participated in the performances of all works of Claudio Monteverdi as well as operas by Pieri, Caccini, Landi, Scarlatti.
Jana Mamonova graduated with honours from the Novosibirsk State Conservatory. She has been the soloist of the Novosibirsk state Philharmony since 1996. Being involved with the masterworks of traditional operatic repertoire, Jana Mamonova discovered a real passion for the Renaissance and Baroque music. In 1995 she started to work with the vocal ensemble Marklelov voices, specialised in early Russian liturgical singing and discovering music of the Renaissance and early Baroque period. Gradually, historical performance practice has become her priority.
Her repertoire covers works of Monteverdi, Rossi, Dowland, Purcell, cantatas of Rameau, Telemann, Scarlatti, Händel and Bach.
Jana still pays great attention to classical, romantic and 20th century repertoire. As soloist of the Novosibirsk Philharmony, she performs arias by Mozart, works by Giuseppe Verdi, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss, Paul Hindemith (Marien Leben), Igor Stravinsky and Sofia Gubaidulina.
She has been working regularly since 2002 with one of the most renowned Russian early music groups Insula Magica. She also sung under the conducting of René Jacob. Jana's important interest lies in the field of Russian Baroque and Polish Renaissance secular music. She performs works of Waclaw z Szamotul, Krzysztof Klabon, Meyer, Jozef (Osip) Kozlowski, Fiodor Dubianski, Grigorij Teplov, Vasilij Tredjakowski. Jana's concert activity has brought her all over the Russian Federation as well as Germany, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.