Festival International de Colmar -

Amandine Beyer, violin
Antoine Torunczyk, oboe
Chiao-Pin Kuo, harpsichord
Baldomero Barciela, viola da gamba

In 1641 Jacques Champion de Chambonnières brought together a few of his friends to give public concerts, under the name Assemblée des Honnestes Curieux.  In 1997, curiosity and honesty yet again ruled over the destiny of a new baroque ensemble made up of four musicians, each one driven by the same desire to transmit the emotions held in the pages of the 17th and 18th centuries.  It didn’t take long for the new Assemblée des Honnestes Curieux to show its ability.  In 1988, at the 3rd edition of the International Early Music Competition Premio Bonporti in Roverto (Italy), it walked away with first prize as well as the special jury prize, presided by Gustav Leonhardt.  

The musicians of Assemblée have also distinguished themselves as soloists.  Amandine Beyer, chosen to be one of the laureates of the Juventus foundation, won the 2001 edition of the Antonio Vivaldi Baroque Violin Competition in Turin (Italy).  In 2000 Antoine Torunczyk was awarded first prize in the baroque oboe competition organised by the Handels Festpiele of Halle (Germany), where the accompaniment of the Honnestes Curieux’s continuo also received recognition.  Aside from their activities with the group, the members of the Assemblée frequently perform with many of the most prestigious European baroque formations, including the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble 415, T. Koopman’s Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, J. V. Immerseel’s Anima Aeterna, J. Savall’s La Capella Reial de Catalunya, and even J.C.Malgoire’s Grande écurie.