‘Les Bougies Baroques’ is an international vocal and period instrument ensemble founded in November 2012 by Maltese conductor-harpsichordist/fortepianist Ian Peter Bugeja. The ensemble specialises in vocal and instrumental repertoire from the late sixteenth century through the beginning of the nineteenth century on period instruments and period instrument reproductions.
The ensemble arose out of a need for young professionals to perpetuate the work of the great pioneers who introduced the concept of historical performance on period instruments back in the 1960s and 1970s. ‘Les Bougies Baroques’ therefore represents the new generation of music-making in the 'baroque spirit’, with its 'new pioneers’ illuminating the path to contemporary enlightenment through the medium of earlier music. The ensemble does this by regularly performing in various historical venues across the UK and mainland Europe – aiming to bring earlier music to audiences within intimate and/or historic settings – ethically a world away from the 'cinematic' aesthetics permeating mainstream classical music-making today.
Notable performances have included the closing concert of the ‘Valletta International Baroque Festival’ (January 2014 – a concert showcasing the ‘Villains and Lovers’ from the operas of Rameau and Handel), and the ensemble's Berlin and Handel Festival debut concerts (in September 2014 and March 2016 respectively). Upcoming performances include various symphonic and operatic concerts in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.
