Formed in 1989, La Turbulente has been awarded the prestigious S.P.E.D.I.A.M. Prize in the Musique d'Ensemble competition, for its outstanding instrumental playing and overall virtuosity, as well as its remarkable interpretative sensibility for baroque music. Its makeup-a trio of two recorders and basso continuo-is that which, as the great eighteenth-century musician Quantz noted, could "produce the loveliest and most perfect music in the world." Its repertoire seeks not only to present the great composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but also to introduce listeners to lesser known musicians, including those of today. In 1993 the group was invited to perform at the Center for Baroque Music at the Palace of Versailles, in 1994 at the Vespermusik of the Stiftkirche of Cappenberg, in 1995 at the Baroque Academy of Lyon, in 1997 at the Ambronay Festival, and in 1998 at the Uzès Festival. In the last few years the group has given concerts in France and Germany. In October 2000, the ensemble will participate again in the Ambronay Festival. It has been invited to perform at the Montreux Festival in 2001. Two CDs of Italian music (Corelli, Church and Chamber Sonatas) have appeared on the Ligia Digital label to enthusiastic critical acclaim. A CD of the music of the seventeenth-century English composer Matthew Locke, a contemporary of Purcell, was released in 1996. Another CD, Un siècle de musique à Venise, will be released in 2001.

About the performers: Frédérique Thouvenot and Susi Möhlmeier hold diplomas from the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam where they studied the recorder with Walter van Hauwe and Kees Boeke. Virginie Vuong holds a diploma from the music conservatory of Utrecht, where she studied the harpsichord with Glen Wilson. She also studied with Jan-Willen Jansen and Gustav Leonhardt.