Emmanuelle Dauvin, Baroque Music’s Unidentified Musical Object

A duo for violin and continuo may sound conventional enough — except when a single musician performs both parts at once. With her violin beneath her chin and her feet on the organ pedals, Emmanuelle Dauvin has created a world entirely her own with OVNI Baroque. From 14 August, she will rejoin La Chapelle Rhénane at the Festival Bach en Tarentaise, before giving concerts in Rennes on 30 August and at the Utrecht Early Music Festival on 2 September.

Playing the Baroque violin while providing the continuo bass on an organ pedalboard: Emmanuelle Dauvin has made this striking feat the starting point for a unique artistic world. Following a debut album devoted to Bach and Biber, and then Cantata a due with soprano Heather Newhouse, the violinist-organist continues to expand her “unidentified Baroque object” in 2026, moving between solo recital, vocal music and staged performance. We meet an artist constantly seeking new ways to present early music.

On your first album, OVNI Baroque, you played the violin while accompanying yourself on an organ pedalboard, reviving a practice that historical sources notably associate with Nikolaus Bruhns in the seventeenth century. How did the idea first come about?

Emmanuelle Dauvin: Well, we had an organ at home because my partner was studying organ at the time. I had always thought it would be interesting to rework Biber’s Passacaglia or Bach’s Chaconne this way—to structure them better for myself, to perform them more confidently in concert. I began with that in mind, to prepare a recital—my very first recital in Paris—so I took it very seriously, as you can imagine (laughs)! And actually, while working on Biber’s Passacaglia this way, I realized it sounded really good. I thought about making an arrangement, but I hesitated, as I feared it might distort such a beautiful piece. So instead, I turned to pieces for violin and basso continuo. I began with Biber’s The Annunciation, from the Rosary Sonatas, and it worked really well—the audience loved it! Being able to play continuo parts solo opens up a wide range of possibilities and adds a lot of variety to recordings. I think it’s the combination of all that which motivated me. It wasn’t about doing a solo project just to be solo, but rather about feeling I had something to express with this format, and that I could invent a concert form that resonates today.

Why do you think it works so well?

E.D.: This type of performance gives a piece a very distinct clarity; it’s a stripped-down reading. You hear nothing but Biber’s music, just his bass, often sustained pedal tones, some motion here and there, and ostinato bass lines—hypnotic in their repetition, very bare, very pure… It was incredibly exciting to discover this music in such a simple yet rich way. That made me want to continue exploring. This also creates a very special connection with the audience—they’re a bit surprised by what they see and hear. I love that surprise because it sparks interest: it transforms the way people listen. The connection is a little different.