violas da gamba Susie Napper & Margaret Little

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1 violas da gamba Susie Napper & Margaret Little Opus award 2012 William Lawes : The Royall Consorts (ATMA) Disc of the year (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music) Opus award 2007 PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR Opus award 2007 Membra Jesu Nostri (ATMA) with Les Voix baroques and Les Voix humaines Disc of the year (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music) Diapason d Or 2007 Sainte-Colombe : Concerts a deux violes esgales (ATMA) The fourth volume of the complete work (each volume = 2 Cds) Opus award 2005 De Vanitate Mundi (ATMA) with Suzie LeBlanc, soprano, and Stephan Van Dyck, tenor Disc of the year (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music) Opus award 2001 Amour Cruel (ATMA) with Suzie LeBlanc, soprano, and Stephen Stubbs, lute and theorbo Disc of the year (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music) Diapason d Or 2001 Le Nymphe di Rheno (Naxos) The twelve sonatas for two viols by Johannes Schenck (2 CDs) Opus award 2000 Star of the magi (ATMA) with Daniel Taylor, countertenor, & Suzie LeBlanc, soprano Recording of the year Adisq award 1998 Tears of the Muse (ATMA) with Daniel Taylor, countertenor Félix for the classical disc of the year (soloists and small ensembles category)

2 violas da gamba Susie Napper & Margaret Little Their musical complicity has been compared to the skill of two trapeze artists or the telepathic communion of a pair of jazz saxophonists! Susie Napper and Margaret Little, the two gambists of Les Voix humaines, have been thrilling audiences worldwide with dashing performances of early and contemporary music for viols since They are renowned for their spectacular arrangements of a wide variety of music for two viols and have become a world reference for the music of Sainte-Colombe. They received the Opus Award 2007 for PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR from the Conseil québécois de la musique. Les Voix humaines has invited prestigious artists to join them in concert and recordings, such as Wieland and Barthold Kuijken, Charles Daniels, Suzie LeBlanc, Daniel Taylor, Rinat Shaham, Matthew White, Eric Milnes, Skip Sempe and Stephen Stubbs. The duo is regularly joined by some of Montreal s finest young viol players to form the Voix Humaines Consort specializing in the vast 17th-century repertoire for viol consort. They recently J. S. Bach s Art of the Fugue. Les Voix humaines has recorded some forty discs which have received critical acclaim and prestigious awards (DIAPASON D OR, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Repertoire- Classica 10, Goldperg 5, Classics Today 10/10, Prix Opus, etc). They include the complete Poeticall Musicke of Tobias Hume, The 4 Seasons of Christopher Simpson, the complete Le Nymphe di Rheno of Johannes Schenck, several discs with soprano Suzie LeBlanc and countertenor Daniel Taylor, a Telemann disc with renowned Belgian flutist Barthold Kuijken, a Marais disc with world famous gambist Wieland Kuijken and Purcell s complete Fantasias for viols. Their recording of the complete Concerts a deux violes esgales by Sainte-Colombe (4 double CDs) is a world premiere, and the fourth volume was awarded a DIAPASON D OR. Les Voix humaines record for the ATMA label. The duo has toured in North America, Mexico, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, China and Japan, performing is prestigious festivals such as Early Music Vancouver, the Festival Internacional Cervantino, the Brighton International Music Festival, the Festival Oude Musiek, Holland, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Summer Festivities of Early Music in Prague and the Israel Festival.

3 Cellist, gambist, continuo player par excellence, SUSIE NAPPER is known for her colorful, even controversial performances of both solo and chamber repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. Having spent her childhood in an artistic milieu in London, in her late teens she moved to New York to study at the Juilliard School, then to the Paris Conservatoire. San Francisco followed, where, after a foray into contemporary music, she co-founded and directed the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Since then she has spent two decades with a foot on either side of the Atlantic as principal cellist with several groups including Stradivaria in France, the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal and Les Boréades in Montreal, and the Trinity Consort of Portland. Her concert tours have taken her as far afield as China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, the Middle East, as well as most European countries. As a member of the very active viol duo Les Voix humaines, she has discovered a new facet of musical expression in the form of musical arranging, thus providing an endlessly fascinating new repertoire for two viols. Susie Napper teaches at McGill University as well as the Royal Conservatory in Copenhagen, and founded the Festival international Montréal Baroque which is presented in Old Montreal in June since She was awarded the «Prix Opus» 2002 for «Personality of the year» by the Conseil québécois de la musique. Her recordings, which include most of the known repertoire for two viols, can be heard on Harmonia Mundi, EMI, Erato, ADDA, CBC Records, Naxos, and most notably on the ATMA label. But her true vocation is not on the concert stage or the recording studio. The kitchen is the center of her domain, where she creates dishes both colorful and controversial for her own pleasure as well as that of her guests. MARGARET LITTLE was born and raised in Montreal in a musical family, playing violin, piano, recorder and guitar as a child. She discovered the viola da gamba at the age of eleven at the CAMMAC Music Centre and fell in love instantly with the instrument and early music repertoire. After studying science and then visual arts, she came back to music and the viol in her early twenties. Margaret has been performing since 1975 as a soloist and a chamber musician on the viola da gamba and baroque viola with various groups including the Studio de Musique ancienne de Montréal, Les Idées Heureuses, Arion, Musica Divina, and she founded the viola da gamba duo "Les Voix humaines" with Susie Napper in She also loves to perform as a duo with Sylvain Bergeron, lutenist. She has been invited to play with many early music groups as a gambist and baroque violist (such as Cappricio Stravagante, Fuocco e Cenere, Rebel, Four Nations, Trinity Consort, Aradia, The Publick Musick, Les Boréades, Les Violons du Roy, etc.) and has toured in North America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. She has recorded over 90 CDs and her first solo CD Senza Continuo was nominated for an Opus Award. Margaret Little teaches the viola da gamba and baroque ensembles at the Université de Montréal since 1992 and has taught many young talented professional viol players.

4 viola da gamba duo Susie Napper & Margaret Little RECORDINGS J. S. Bach: The Art of the Fugue (to be released on May 28, 2013) ATMA (ACD2 2645) The Voix humaines Consort of Viols : Margaret Little, Mélisande Corriveau, Felix Deak & Susie Napper William Lawes : The Royall Consorts ATMA (ACD2 2373) The Complete Royall Consorts by William Lawes on two CDs Les Voix humaines Consort : David Greenberg, Olivier Brault & Ingrid Matthews, baroque violins ; Susie Napper & Margaret Little, bass viols ; Stephen Stubbs & Sylvain Bergeron, theorbos Opus award 2012 Disc of the year (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music) Nominated for an Adisq Prize 2012 Henry Purcell : Fantasias ATMA (ACD2 2591) The complete fantasias for viols by Henry Purcell The Voix humaines Consort of Viols : Margaret Little, Susie Napper, Mélisande Corriveau, Elin Söderström, Felix Deak, Arnaud Leroy, Marie-Laurence Primeau Humori ATMA (ACD2 2504) A Renaissance Carnival celebration Les Voix baroques: Suzie LeBlanc & Catherine Webster, sopranos, Matthew White, countertenor, Charles Daniels & Colin Balzer, tenors, Sumner Thompson, barytone The Voix humaines Consort: Susie Napper, Margaret Little, Elin Söderström, viols, Matt Jennejohn, cornetto and recorder, Olivier Brault & Geneviève Gilardeau, violins, Sara Lackie, harp, Sylvain Bergeron, lute & guitar, Patrick Graham, percussion Nomination for an Opus Award 2009 William Lawes : The Harp Consorts ATMA (ACD ) Maxine Eilander, harp, David Greenberg, baroque violin, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba and Stephen Stubbs, theorbo & guitar First complete recording L ange Marais ATMA (ACD ) Wieland Kuijken, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, Nigel North, theorbo, and Eric Milnes, harpsichord. Marin Marais two suites for three viols. Classics Today 10/10 Nominated for a Midem Award (Baroque music category)

5 «Concerts à deux violes esgales» by Sieur de Sainte-Colombe Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba Volume 1 ATMA (ACD ) Recommended by Répertoire, 5 Diapasons, Goldberg 5 Volume 2 ATMA (ACD ) Goldberg 5 Volume 3 ATMA (ACD ) Supersonic Pizzicato Award Volume 4 ATMA (ACD ) DIAPASON D OR 2007, Classics Today 10/10 The complete 67 Concerts on four double Cds Membra Jesu Nostri ATMA (ACD2 2563) Les Voix baroques: Suzie Leblanc and Catherine Webster, sopranos, Matthew White, alto, Pascal Charbonneau, tenor, Thomas Meglioranza, bass. The Voix humaines Consort : Chloe Meyers and Christopher Verrette, violins, Margaret Little, Elin Söderström and Mélisande Corriveau, violas da gamba, Susie Napper, viol and cello, Nicolas Lessard, violone, Sylvain Bergeron, theorbo. Alexander Weimann, organ, conductor Cycle of seven cantatas on the limbs of Jesus by Dietrich Buxtehude Goldberg 5 stars Opus award 2007 Disc of the year (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music) Rise, O my soul ATMA (ACD2 2506) Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Christopher Jackson, Director Les Voix humaines Consort of Viols and Réjean Poirier, organ English Anthems (Bull, Byrd, Gibbons, Simmes, Tomkins, Ward) Classics Today 10/10 Les Délices de la Solitude ATMA (ACD2 2307) Susie Napper, viola da gamba and baroque cello, Margaret Little, viola da gamba, Kate van Orden and Mathieu Lussier, Baroque bassoons,pierre Cartier, double bass, Eric Milnes, harpsichord, Sylvain Bergeron, lute and baroque guitar. Les Délices de la Solitude & Le Phoenix by Michel Corrette 10/10, ClassicsTodayFrance.com De Vanitate Mundi ATMA (ACD ) Suzie LeBlanc, soprano, Stephan Van Dyck, tenor, Susie Napper, Margaret Little and Mélisande Corriveau, violas da gamba, Alexander Weimann, organ, and Sylvain Bergeron, theorbo. Missa de profundis and Motets by Pierre Bouteiller Opus award 2005 Disc of the year (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music) Orfeo Fantasia ATMA (ACD )ORFEO FANTASIA : with tenor Charles Daniels and Capriccio Stravagante: Monteverdi, Dowland, Hume, Guédron, Caccini & d'india Primavera ATMA (ACD ) with Suzie LeBlanc, soprano, Daniel Taylor, countertenor, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, Hélène Plouffe and Olivier Brault, baroque violins, Mattias Maute and Francis Colpron, recorders, Sylvain Bergeron, lute, Vincent Dhavernas, percussion A celebration of springtime in music "Choc" from Monde de la Musique (July 2004)

6 Telemann: works for flute and viols ATMA (ACD ) Barthold Kuijken, traverso, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, and Eric Milnes, harpsichord Sonatas and Fantasias by Georg Philip Telemann Classica-Répertoire 10/10 (June 2004) Ay que si, Ay que no! ATMA (ACD ) Suzie LeBlanc, soprano, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, Stephen Stubbs, baroque guitar, Maxine Eilander, baroque harp, and Rafik Samman, percussion José Marin, Francisco Guerau, Juan Hidalgo, Diego Ortiz, Fernandez de Huete Recommended by Répertoire Les Folies ATMA (ACD ) Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba Arrangements of Couperin, Rameau, Lebègue and Marais for two equal viols Répertoire 10/10 (March 2003) Jenkins: Fantasia ATMA (ACD ) Jay Bernfeld, treble viol, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, and Eric Milnes, organ and harpsichord Fantasias, Suites and Divisions by John Jenkins for two and three viols Recommended by Répertoire Johannes Schenck: Le Nymphe di Rheno (two CDs) Naxos ( & ) Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba All twelve sonatas for two viols DIAPASON D OR 2001, Répertoire 10/10 O Sweet Love ATMA (ACD ) Daniel Taylor, countertenor, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, and Stephen Stubbs, lute Vocal and instrumental works of William Byrd and John Dowland Amour Cruel ATMA (ACD ) Suzie Leblanc, soprano, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, and Stephen Stubbs, theorbo French Airs de Cour (Lambert & Le Camus) and Concerts by Sainte-Colombe Opus award 2001 Disc of the year (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music) Christopher Simpson: The Four Seasons ATMA (ACD ) Jay Bernfeld, treble viol, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, Michael Fentross, theorbo, and Réjean Poirier, organ 5 Goldbergs, Recommended by Repertoire and Classica

7 Star of the Magi (Christmas Disc) ATMA (ACD ) Suzie LeBlanc, soprano, and Daniel Taylor, countertenor, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, Sylvain Bergeron, lute, Francis Colpron, recorder, et Rafik Samman, percussion Opus award 2000 Recording of the year The Spirite of Musicke ATMA (ACD ) Suzie Le Blanc, soprano, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba Tobias Hume, Alphonso II Ferrabosco, Giovanni Coperario Christopher Simpson, John Jenkins Tears of the Muse ATMA (ACD ) Daniel Taylor, countertenor, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, and Andreas Martin, lute Vocal and instrumental works of John Dowland Adisq award Félix for the classical disc of the year (soloists and small ensembles category) Captaine Humes Poeticall Musicke (two CDs) Naxos ( & ) The complete Poeticall Musicke (1607) of Tobias Hume Daniel Taylor, countertenor, Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba, Paul Audet & Stephen Stubbs, lutes and orpherion, Francis Colpron, recorder, and Réjean Poirier, virginals 5 Diapasons Le Constant et l Infidelle ATMA (ACD ) Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba Sainte-Colombe, Marin Marais Violes Esgales - CBC Records (MVCD1082) Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba Sainte-Colombe, Marin Marais, François Couperin 5 Diapasons

8 viola da gamba duo Susie Napper & Margaret Little REVIEWS (William Lawes: The Royall Consorts 2 CD set) The Montréal ensemble imbues these works with new colour, to remarkable effect. Indeed, this version is far superior to any previous recording. The strings are warm and expressive. The melancholic, tender, contemplative, joyful and dance-like aspects of the music all come to life. This is divine, soothing entertainment. The constantly moving musical lines answer one another in succession. The musicians, at the height of their powers, seem as one. A magnificent album.» René F. Auclair - La Scena Musicale, Montréal, June 2012 (William Lawes: The Royall Consorts CDs) There is something about the present rendition that evokes that original Lawesian thrill. Not only is the musicianship world-class (as one might expect from this outstanding North American lineup), but the players also convey a combination of pomp and dancing physicality that draws on English folk traditions. This is Englishry at its best, comparable with the native genius of Shakespeare and the King James Bible. The performances are full of zip, pizzazz, and attention to detail, compelling you to sing and dance along. This is truly a recording to treasure. Snap it up while you can. Tom Moore - Early Music America (USA), August 2012 (William Lawes: The Royall Consorts CDs) These 10 Royall Consorts are among his bestknown works, here beautifully performed and recorded by the Canadian period stringplayers of Les Voix humaines. Edward Greenfield Gramophone (USA), September 2012 (William Lawes: The Royall Consorts CDs) It's authentic and convincing in equal measure. Nothing spectacular, gaudy or forced. Everything suave, real and beautiful. This is a release to treasure. Mark Sealey - MusicWeb International, September 2012 (William Lawes: The Royall Consorts CDs) Their sense of timing, pace, and phrasing is impeccable. Meic Goodyear - Lute News, October 2012 (William Lawes: The Royall Consorts CDs) A warm welcome to this new recording of the complete Royall Consort of William Lawes There is great variety both within and between each suite, and these performances exploit this to the full, with very eloquent playing. Robert Olivier Early Music Review, August 2012

9 (William Lawes: The Royall Consorts CDs) If you don t know Les Voix Humaines you should make their acquaintance with this Lawes album and then move on to their simply sublime recordings of music by Sainte-Colombe. Craig Zeichner - Ariama.com, April 2012 (in concert) It was easy to fall in love with Les Voix humaines In their hands (Susie Napper and Margaret Little), these sonorous antiques (viols) become conduits for a wide range of moods and emotions. Rob Hubbard, St-Paul Pioneer Press (USA), January 2010 (CD Purcell five Diapasons) the remarkable unity among the musicians, who stray freely from the tactus, leave scale passages hanging, move suddenly or slow down with an instinct that comes only from years of playing together. Exactly what one wishes were attempted more often nowadays. Harold Loparelli, Diapason, September 2009 (Purcell CD)... it takes only a few seconds to captivate the listener. The viols warm and enveloping tones bring out an infinity of textures and swells an irrepressible musical necessity splendid disc, an absolute must! Camille Rondeau, La Scena Musicale, June 2009 (Purcell CD) The innovative readings on this delightful disc make this a must-have for one s early music collection. Alison DeSimone, Early Music America, Winter 2009 (Purcell CD) Fluidity and breadth The result of these fully-digested and thoughtful, not to say technically very accomplished, interpretations by Les Voix humaines is definitely music for us to listen to. Recommended without hesitation. Mark Sealy, Classical Net Review, October 2009 (in concert) Margaret Little's sensitive playing and Susie Napper's lively expressiveness brought out the poetic nature of this music, which leaves ample room for interpretation and creativity. Like two voices caught up in a love duet, the viols rose and fell in unison, in tune with the other's every move. J.M.C., l Indépendant.com, Perpignan, France, September 2008 (William Lawes Harp Consorts) The players of Les Voix humaines and harpist Maxine Eilander really play off of each other, and they are extremely well recorded. It truly sounds as if everyone involved is having a very good time, and you will too. David Hurwitz, Classics Today.com, September 2008 (Rise, O my Soul) «At the core of this program is the magnificent instrumental support (vios and organ) of Les Voix humaines for my money the best ensemble playing this music currently on the scene. Their contributions supporting, accenting, and caressing each vocal phrase are equal to the virtuoso brillance they bring to fantasias by Tomkins and Gibbons. If there is praise higher than «essential listening», I award it to this recording.» Craig Zeichner, Early Music America, Winter 2007

10 (Membra Jesu Nostri) The five soloists and the equally-sensitive instrumental group for a superbly integrated consort, movingly communicating the vibrant intimacy and urgent sensuality of Buxtehude s music. Uri Golomb, Goldberg, October 2007 What makes this set so compelling is the combination of profoundly imaginative music and the extreme beauty of the performances by two magnificent chamber musicians. flexible elegance, lyricism and sensuality Christopher Price, International Record Review, September 2007 (Sainte-Colombe, volume IV) After their essential recordings of Schenck and Hume, Les Voix humaines offer another reference in the field of music for two viols. (...) Never have Sainte-Colombe's inventive powers been so well revealed. (...) Virtuosity and remarquable ensemble playing mark this performance, a powerful antidote to the too safe and bland renderings often heard of French music for the viol. Harold Lopparelli, Diapason, April 2007 (Sainte-Colombe, Volume IV) Les Voix humaines first three installments were exquisitely tasteful. Margaret Little and Susie Napper now bring their project to a close with true elegance and flair. Christophe Huss, Le Devoir, April 2007 (L Ange Marais) «Viola da gambists Susie Napper and Margaret Little (who form the core of the ensemble), joined by legendary veteran of the instrument Wieland Kuijken, here serve the composer well, delivering impeccably stylish performances that take full advantage of Marais' diverse, abundant palette of sonorities that lace his many richly chromatic passages. (...) All told, this is an outstanding addition to the Marais discography and very highly recommended.» John Greene, Classics Today, November 2006 (L Ange Marais) Canadian ensemble Les Voix humaines, joined by guest gambist Wieland Kuijken, bring their usual elegant and sensitive playing to this quintessentially French music. Beth Adelman, Early Music America, Spring 2007 (L Ange Marais) Kuijken, Margaret Little and Susie Napper expertly render the aesthetic universe and colorful, precise rhetoric of the music. With bright and sumptuous tones, generous phrasing, and excellent mastery in the art of ornamentation, the three players build up a language and voice all their own. Anne-Sophie Jacouty, Classica-Répertoire, October 2006 Margaret Little and Susie Napper played with a fire that was sometimes reminiscent of a pair of jazz saxophonists trading licks ( ) Sainte-Colombe brought out an almost telepathic interplay between the two. Rob Hubbard, St-Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis, January 2006 (in concert) Volume III of the complete Concerts for two viols by Sainte-Colombe shines with golden-tone virtuosity. Paul James Dwyer, Opus (Canada), winter 05/06 Margaret Little and Susie Napper have an instinctive feeling for the composer s (Sainte- Colombe) phrasing, for the way his melodic lines move, for the placing of chords. ( ) The excellent recorded sound achieved by Johanne Goyette is no more than these two extraordinary players, and this remarkable music, deserve. Unreservedly recommended. Ivan Moody, Goldberg, December 2005

11 The two gambists interpret this music (Sainte-Colombe) with a sincerity that takes your breath away. Absolutely everything is here: the discourse, the dialogue, the intelligent musical direction, the transmission of spine-tingling emotion. PiRath, Pizzicato (Luxembourg), November 2005 The Voix Humaines Consort had stars dancing before a delighted public s eyes as they expertly brought to life a program of early baroque English works. Weaving their viols voices together in a contrapuntal conversation punctuated by rich rhythms, their dulcet tones seemed to touch upon the divine. Guy Marceau, La Presse, May 2005 (in concert) (Sainte-Colombe, Volume II) Susie Napper and Margaret Little have achieved the art of courtly conversation so highly prized in the 17 th and 18 th centuries: they play in perfect symbiosis, their bass viols goading, echoing and responding to each other like twin instruments. Michèle Tosi, ResMusica, 2005 The performers clearly speak this music as if it were their mother tongue. They revealed not just the music s charms, but also the sensuality and soul Tamara Bernstein, National Post, February 2005 (in concert) Susie Napper and Margaret Little showed their free spirit with extraordinary eloquence. Guy Marceau, La Presse, January 2005 (in concert) Les Voix humaines certainly represent the highest quality of performance on early instruments that can be found in North America. Gabrielle McLaughlin, The Whole Note, Toronto, October/November 2004 The interpretation they give us here technically unequaled, sensitive, extremely expressive, rich in colors, and also full of spirit is striking evidence of the grandeur of Sainte-Colombe. Johann Van Veen, Toccata (Germany), September October 2004 "Les Voix humaines have a total and instinctive understanding of Sainte-Colombe's rhetoric." Ivan Moody, Goldgerg, June 2004 (5 Goldberg) "Telemann unplugged... And with Les Voix humaines, who know like no others how to tug at your heartstrings, this is strong stuff... (an achievement) that vibrates with every fibre, growls, howls, caresses, purrs... wild and exhilarating. In the end, this is an exceptional recital, one for which every lover of baroque music should reserve a good seat." Serge Grégory, Classica-Répertoire, June 2004 (Classica-Répertoire 10/10) "(this Telemann CD) is splendid for several reasons. First of all, for the stature of the performers. Barthold Kuijken and Les Voix humaines form a refined matching of subtle musicians." Christophe Huss, Le Devoir, Montreal, March 2004 "The lovely indolence of Dowland... Musical rhetoric and gesture are essential here, and these gambists succeed with great cohesion, from treble to bass, in creating a lovingly drawn-out sonority, rich and intense." Guy Marceau, La Presse, Montreal, January 2004 (in concert)

12 "(Sainte-Colombe, volume 1) These are passionately committed performances, resonant and full of fresh insights... Napper and Little have momentarily penetrated the mists of time. Their ensemble in the unmeasured passages is like that of trapeze artists, trusting and perfectly timed." Julie Anne Sadie, Gramophone Awards issue 2003 "An appointment with timelessness The two bass viols converse and vibrate as one voice, in pieces each more expressive than the other. And the melancholy and grave atmosphere has an austere beauty that equals the playing of these musicians." Guy Marceau, La Presse, Montreal, July 2003 "Incisive and transparent, sparkling yet controlled, their dialogue leaves little place for doubt..." Thomas Lecomte Diapason, October 2003 " these Folies are of the best caliber performances. After their formidable Schenck (The Nymphs of the Rhine), on a par with the greats, Margaret Little and Susie Napper have reached the glorious summit of their art." Franklin Khazine, Société Française de Viole, March 2003 "The least we can say is that Margaret Little and Susie Napper elevate the art of arranging to the level of a noble art form! Ms. Little and Napper play as one but seem to multiply themselves to the infinite A great lesson in chamber music!" Serge Grégory, Répertoire, March 2003 "The performances by Susie Napper and Margaret Little, the two members of Les Voix humaines, are absolutely superb, encompassing all the poetic intensity of Sainte- Colombe s music. Their long experience of playing as a duo means that they think and play as one person, their rapport in chordal passages approaching the nearmiraculous." Brian Robins, Fanfare, November/December 2001 "Les Voix humaines, a well chosen name indeed. Rarely have instruments seemed so close to human speech than these two venerable viols. Ms Napper and Little s art of conversation transports us to the Salon of Madame de Sévigné." Olivier Opdebeeck, Diapason, September 2001 "It is hard to imagine a better demonstration of the ways in which a period style can come alive in hands gifted with a genuine sense of its expressive vitality and sophistication." Jonathan B. Keates, Andante.com, 2001 (in concert) "Susie Napper and Margaret Little operate on an elevated plane. They ve played together so long that they sound as if a single muse were speaking through their two instruments." Ellen Pfeifer, The Boston Globe, October , Saint-Alexandre, # 408, Montreal (Quebec), Canada H2Z 1P8 tel: (514) , # 2 info@lesvoixhumaines.org

13 THE VIOLA DA GAMBA... the human Voice... never has an Instrument imitated it as well as the Viol... Jean Rousseau, Traité de la viole, The viol, a bowed string instrument, flourished in the courts and noble households of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The viola da gamba family differs from the viola da braccia family (violin, viola, cello and double-bass) in several ways: all sizes of viols, from small to large, are held between the legs, fretted like the guitar and bowed underhand. While the violin served to enliven plebeian street festivities, the viol was the instrument par excellence of the nobility. A chest of viols, treble, tenor and bass, was a commonly found accessory in any aristocratic household where playing in consort or improvising divisions on a bass, for the virtuosi, would be one of the most beloved forms of entertainment. Marin Marais, famous French gambist and virtuoso appointed to the court of the Sun King, wrote over five hundred pieces for the instrument as well as chamber music and operas. He had been a student of the mysterious Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe. Both form the subject of the film Tous les matins du monde which was universally hailed by critics and public alike for the beauty of the music. The eighteenth century saw the rise of the middle class, popular music and the predominance of the violin. The viola da gamba gradually declined in popularity with the eclipse of the nobility and the ultimate destruction of the French court, after the revolution. The beauty, intimacy and refinement of the sound of the viola da gamba, contrasted with the audacious extravagance of the repertoire, seems to strike a responsive chord in the contemporary music lover, thus the renaissance in popularity of this exotic instrument.