Born in 1983, Maude Gratton has been fascinated by early keyboards and a wide variety of repertoires from an early age. Her first steps led her to the harpsichord at the age of five, followed a few years later by the great organ. Fascinated by the clavichord from an early age, she naturally began to explore the multifaceted world of early pianos at the age of twenty.

Eager to create a space where music could flourish freely, Maude founded the ensemble il Convito in 2005 on a chamber music basis with Claire Gratton at her side. The ensemble lived independently for ten years, guided by a 'Déclic' prize awarded by Cultures France and Radio France in 2007. In 2015, with the support of several musician friends, il Convito dropped anchor in La Rochelle: the structure was officially born.

Committed to sharing music and the arts, Maude has founded and directed a number of projects as artistic director in France and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region: the Musiques en Gâtine festival, now the MM Festival (Festival de Musique en Mouvement in La Rochelle), and the Saison du MM.

Maude Gratton is a member of Collegium Vocale Gent conducted by Philippe Herreweghe and plays regularly with musicians such as Bruno Cocset & Les Basses Réunies, Philippe Pierlot & Ricercar Consort, Damien Guillon & Le Banquet Céleste, Romina Lischka & Hathor Consort, Pierre Hantaï, Sophie Gent, Ageet Zweistra, Claire Gratton, Camille Poul. Since 2011 she has taught at the Vannes Early Music Institute (Bruno Cocset).

She has made several recordings for the Mirare label: Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (Concertos for harpsichord & strings, Works for harpsichord & clavichord), Georges Onslow (Sonatas for cello & fortepiano with cellist Emmanuel Jacques), Beethoven (Sonatas for violin & fortepiano with violinist Baptiste Lopez). She has also recorded for the Phi - Outhere music label (Bach Leipzig Organ Works), and appeared as soloist on several recordings with Le Banquet Céleste (Bach), Ricercar Consort (Bach, Weckmann, Imitatio), Les Basses Réunies (Vivaldi, Ortiz, Beethoven), Edding Quartet (Beethoven), Les Siècles (Martin Matalon).

Forthcoming recordings include a solo disc devoted to Venetian music (from Cavazzoni to Merula), and il Convito's first orchestral recording with guest Pierre Hantaï of the Doubles Concertos for harpsichord(s) and fortepiano by the Bach sons.

Maude is a graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in harpsichord, organ, basso continuo and Renaissance counterpoint. In 2003 she won 2nd prize at the Bruges International Organ Competition, and was named Young Soloist 2006 by the Radios Francophones publiques.

French tenor Jean‑François Novelli, winner of the Concours Général, holder of a degree in Musicology from the Sorbonne, First Prize in recorder, graduate of the CNSMD de Paris in voice, and ADAMI Young Talent, naturally turned toward early music through his first instrument. He has pursued this repertoire with enduring passion, as evidenced by some thirty recordings and DVDs made with today’s leading specialists in early music. Among them are Silentium, a recital album devoted to the voix de taille recorded with Fabien Armengaud, Tirannique Empire, a programme of cantatas by Jean-Baptiste Stuck with the first formation of Les Lunaisiens, and Il Signor Lulli, recorded with Les Paladins and Jérôme Correas.

His recent operatic engagements include Remendado (Carmen) and L’Aumônier du Carmel (Dialogues des Carmélites) at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Torquemada (L’Heure espagnole) on an Italian tour (the opera houses of Brescia, Como, Cremona and Pavia), Le Héraut (Dante by Godard) at the Opéra de Saint-Étienne, Jean-Paul and Monsieur Victor (Ô Mon bel Inconnu by Reynaldo Hahn) at the Théâtre de l’Athénée, Raphaël (La Route Fleurie by Lopez) at the Théâtre de l’Odéon in Marseille, and Telemaco and Pisandro (Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria), a production that has toured internationally for more than ten years, appearing across Europe, including the Opéra Massimo di Palermo, the Théâtre Royal de Versailles and Spain, as well as in Asia (Korea and Hong Kong) and the United States, notably in New York.

His love of the stage has also led him to study clowning with Françoise Simon and Raphaël Almosni, and acting with Olivier Broche and Emeline Bayard. He explores and develops these artistic influences through projects created within his own company, Compagnie de l’Autre Voix.

Among these projects is Croustilleux La Fontaine, a theatrical song recital based on licentious tales by Jean de La Fontaine, set to music by Antoine Sahler and staged by Juliette. Still touring today, the production has already been performed more than eighty times. An album featuring songs from the show was released in 2022.

Another creation is Ma vie de ténor (est un roman qui m’intéresse beaucoup), based on a text by Hector Berlioz about the singer’s ego, directed by Olivier Broche and presented at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Michel during the Festival Off d’Avignon in July 2023.

He also creates intimate “pocket-sized” productions combining poetry and music, including Divine bouteille, a recital centred on wine, a theme omnipresent in baroque music, accompanied by lute, and La Boîte à Joujoux, a reimagined fantasy for voice and piano inspired by Hellé’s tale and Claude Debussy’s work of the same name.

His most recent release is the recital album of French mélodies Vous souvenez-vous ?, a tribute to the pioneering rediscoverers of early music at the turn of the twentieth century and beyond, with Maude Gratton at the piano.

Jean-François Novelli has been represented by RSBA since 2013.