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, laureate of the Concours Général, holds a degree in musicology from the Sorbonne, a Premier Prix in recorder, and is a graduate of the CNSMD de Paris in voice. A young talent recognized by ADAMI, he naturally turned—thanks to his first instrument—towards early music, which he has practiced and continues to explore with great passion. This is reflected in some thirty recordings and DVDs alongside today’s leading conductors in early music. Notable among them: Silentium, a recital album centered on the voix de taille recorded with Fabien Armengaud, and Tirannique Empire, a recital of cantatas by Jean-Baptiste Stuck with the ensemble Les Lunaisiens “première époque.”

His recent opera engagements include the roles of Remendado (Carmen) and the Chaplain (Dialogues des Carmélites) at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Torquemada (L’Heure espagnole) on an Italian tour (Operas of Brescia, Como, Cremona, and Pavia), the Herald (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, and Telemaco and Pisandro (Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria), a project that has toured the world for ten years: Europe (Opéra Massimo in Palermo, Théâtre Royal de Versailles, Spain), Asia (Korea, Hong Kong), United States (New York).

His love of the stage led him to study clowning with Françoise Simon and Raphaël Almosni, and theatre with Olivier Broche and Emeline Bayard. He joyfully applies this training in his own projects developed within the company Compagnie de l’Autre Voix, which he founded:

Croustilleux la Fontaine, a theatrical recital of songs based on Jean de La Fontaine’s licentious tales, set to music by Antoine Sahler and staged by Juliette, still touring and performed over 80 times. An album of songs from the show was released in 2022.

Ma vie de ténor (est un roman qui m’intéresse beaucoup), based on a text by Hector Berlioz about the singer’s ego, staged by Olivier Broche, performed at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Michel as part of the Avignon Off Festival in July 2023.

He also creates “pocket-sized” formats blending poetry and music: Divine bouteille, a recital about wine—a theme deeply present in baroque music—with lute, and La Boîte à Joujoux, a reimagined fantasy with piano based on the tale by Hellé and the eponymous work by Claude Debussy.

He recently released a recital album of French mélodies, Vous souvenez-vous ?, a tribute to the early rediscoverers of early music at the dawn of the 20th century and beyond, with Maude Gratton on piano.

Notable engagements for the 2025–2026 season include Le Bourgeois gentilhomme at the Opéra Royal de Versailles, and the role of Raphaël (La Route Fleurie by Lopez) at the Théâtre de l’Odéon in Marseille.

He has been represented by RSB Artists agency since 2013.