« A man with a lot of common sense, despite his youthful years, Thomas Dunford gathered together a team of some of the finest musicians of his generation… Brace yourselves for some exquisitely dizzy spells, at the hand of Jupiter. » (Erik Orsenna, French writer.)
Created in 2018 by lutenist Thomas Dunford, Jupiter was born from the meeting and friendship between Thomas and young and brilliant musicians of his generation: Lea Desandre, Jean Rondeau, Douglas Balliett, Bruno Philippe, Thibaut Garcia, Peter Whelan ... The great freedom, listening, improvisation and energy acquired by each of them over the years, allow them to perform with passion, strength and emotion the different repertoires they play; from Vivaldi to Joaquin Rodrigo, through Handel, Destouches, Couperin, Mancini or original compositions by Thomas Dunford and Douglas Balliett.
Jupiter's first disc, released in autumn 2019 for the Alpha label, is dedicated to Vivaldi. Alternating extracts from operas and instrumental concerti, it highlights the different soloists of the Jupiter Ensemble. The awards received since then for this recording confirm the success of this first project (Diamant Opéra Magazine, Caecillia prize awarded by Union of the Belgian Music Press, International Classical Music Awards (ICMA), France Musique choice).
In September 2021, Jupiter released its second album, "Amazone," Lea Desandre's first recording recital, for the Erato-Warner Classics label. Composed of arias from French and Italian operas, this new album highlights arias from the 17th and 18th centuries. This program, built in collaboration with musicologist Yannis François, gives pride of place to unjustly forgotten pieces, some of which have never been played since their creation. This album has also received several awards : Diamant Opéra Magazine, Opus Klassik 2022, Gramophone Editor’s choice, ffff Telerama, Radio 3 record of the year 2021.
In autumn 2022, Jupiter released a third CD "Eternal Heaven", dedicated to Handel's English oratorios, with soloists Lea Desandre and Iestyn Davies, again for the Erato Warner Classics label.
In 2023-2024, the Jupiter ensemble will create a new program entitled "Chasing Rainbows", staged by Sophie Daneman and in collaboration with Hubert Barrère for the costumes. Jupiter will perform at L'Opéra-Comique (Paris), Berlin Philharmonie, Opéra de Rouen, Cité Bleue (Geneva), Maison de la Radio (Paris), Festival de Rougemont, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.
The Jupiter ensemble is supported by the Fondation Orange, the Centre National de la Musique (CNM), ADAMI and SPEDIDAM, and is in residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac. Jupiter is a member of FÉVIS and PROFEDIM.
www.jupiter-ensemble.com
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