Ensemble Théodora: French Baroque Finds a Home in London

Founded at the Royal Academy of Music in London by Lucie Chabard, Alice Trocellier, Mariamielle Lamagat, and Louise Ayrton, Ensemble Théodora has established itself as one of the most promising groups on the young French Baroque scene. In residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac since 2023, and having appeared at the Festival Radio France Montpellier, MA Brugge, La Chaise-Dieu, Utrecht, Sablé-sur-Sarthe, and the London Handel Festival, this all-female quartet explores the musical exchanges of Baroque Europe, with particular attention to expatriate composers and styles in motion. Their first album for Alpha Classics, Tranquilles Cœurs, extends this identity by tracing the paths of the French taste through Baroque Germany. For Total Baroque Magazine, Mariamielle Lamagat and Lucie Chabard, the ensemble’s soprano and harpsichordist, reflect on the birth of the group, the friendship that binds it together, and their distinctive approach to weaving together styles, languages, and artistic temperaments.

How would you describe the ensemble and your project to someone who isn’t familiar with it yet?

Mariamielle Lamagat: We are four musicians who became friends, and that friendship quickly took on a musical form. The ensemble was formed at the Royal Academy of Music, born out of a shared desire: to perform the French repertoire that we all loved.

Lucie Chabard: In France, this repertoire almost feels self-evident. In London, it was much less so. We therefore came together around Couperin, Rameau, and Jacquet de La Guerre, with the feeling that we shared not only a musical language, but also a common curiosity.

Did you know one another beforehand?

M. L.: The girls were studying there, in the early music program. I did an Erasmus year a year after they arrived. It was really clear what we were building—the joy of playing together… We found ourselves focusing on the finer details.

L. C.: And a similar interest in programs centered on research topics—based on our readings, for example.

Your way of working seems highly collaborative. How are decisions made within the ensemble?

L. C.: Indeed: all decisions are made by the four of us. This is invaluable, because we also play in other ensembles where we are performers but don’t always have a say in the decisions. In contrast, the Théodora ensemble is our space of freedom: we decide on the programmes, temperaments, instruments, research directions, and outreach… Everything is discussed among us.

“A sound isn’t something you can just decide on out of the blue. It takes time, concerts, experimentation, and sometimes disagreements—and that shared memory we end up building without even realizing it.” © Manou Milon

M. L.: For some time now, we have also been inviting other musicians to join us on occasion, such as theorbo player Étienne Galletier, or mezzo-soprano Adèle Charvet, with whom we recorded the Duo de la Paix et de la Félicité for our album. We also sometimes get opportunities to play concerts where we have to fill in for one of us—it happens, and it is always difficult to juggle everyone’s schedules. We are a quartet, but that does not deprive us of our freedom.

Does that freedom also come from the long period you allowed yourselves before making a recording?

L. C.: Just think about it: we have been playing together since 2017. We deliberately took our time before releasing this first album because it was something we cared deeply about; we wanted our project to mature.

M. L.: And above all, a sound!

L. C.: Yes, a sound isn’t something you can just decide on out of the blue. It takes time, concerts, experimentation, and sometimes disagreements—and that shared memory we end up building without even realizing it. In a fast-paced environment, we wanted to let this develop fully before recording it.