BAROK MUSIC BY GAÉTAN JARRY
Shaped by organist Gaétan Jarry, the ensemble Marguerite Louise draws its inspiration from the irresistible figure of Marguerite Louise Couperin, cousin and muse of the Sun King’s organist — a celebrated singer of her time, whose grace and purity of voice enchanted the royal court.
In residence at the Château de Versailles since 2016, Marguerite Louise performs regularly in France and abroad (Opéra Royal de Versailles, Festival Radio France Occitanie, Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay, Sinfonia en Périgord, Festival d’Automne de Souvigny, Cité de la Musique–Paris, Palazzo Farnese in Rome, Les Grands Concerts de Lyon, Théâtre de Caen, Théâtre de Compiègne, Théâtre d'Avignon, Musikfestspiele Potsdam, etc.).
Its discography—now counting around ten recordings, unanimously acclaimed by international critics—has allowed the ensemble to establish its hallmark: a unique emotional intensity and a sound identity that is rich, generous, and deeply personal.
Marguerite Louise is a member of FEVIS. The ensemble is supported notably by the Fondation Orange, the Caisse des Dépôts (its principal patrons), as well as the city of Versailles.
Marguerite Louise is not merely a name: it is a presence, a source, a breath.
She was Marguerite Louise Couperin (1676–1728), cousin of François Couperin, the celebrated harpsichordist and organist to Louis XIV. Admitted to Versailles in 1702 as a voix de dessus, she is described by Titon du Tillet as “one of the most celebrated musicians of her time,” singing with “great lightness of voice and a marvelous sense of taste.”
For this woman—one of the very first allowed to sing from the tribune of the Royal Chapel—Couperin composed some of his most delicate and daring pages: music shaped for a rare purity, an airy yet grounded presence (emancipated from the basso continuo, entrusted to the violins, often accompanied by a flute), light and profound all at once.
It was this precious duality that one day imposed itself as an obvious truth: Marguerite Louise would be our name, our muse, our horizon. She inspires our musical gesture as a figure of avant-garde spirit, a breath of freshness and grace, but also as a form of inner spirituality that resonates across the centuries.
No contemporary portrait of her has come down to us. And so Marguerite Louise is reborn today in the faces of women of our own time—free, emancipated, creative women who make the Baroque stage vibrate with the same ardor she once embodied. Through them, through their presence and momentum, Marguerite Louise continues to exist, as a symbol of emancipation and freedom.
French conductor and organist Gaétan Jarry, born in 1986, is the founder of the ensemble Marguerite Louise..
After a distinguished academic path crowned with numerous first prizes at the conservatories of Versailles and Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Gaétan Jarry also graduated in organ performance from the Paris National Conservatory of Music (CNSM).
In 2016, he was appointed titular organist of the historic Great Organs of Saint-Gervais Church in Paris. His passion for the voice and for early repertoires led him to create Marguerite Louise, a choir and orchestra that has become a reference on the new international baroque scene. Gaétan Jarry is also one of the principal guest conductors of the Orchestra of the Opéra Royal de Versailles, where he has conducted The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni by Mozart, as well as Bach’s St. John Passion and Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio for the upcoming season.
With a discography of more than fifteen recordings, all widely praised by international critics, his work is largely devoted to French baroque music, in which he infuses the Marguerite Louise aesthetic into major choral and orchestral repertoire — operas, and the great royal motets of Lully, Charpentier, Lalande, Rameau, Mondonville, among others.
As a soloist, he released in 2019 Baroque Christmas at Versailles, recorded on the Great Organs of the Royal Chapel of Versailles in collaboration with the Pages of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles; in 2020 Le Grand Jeu, a recital centred on the French baroque organ; and in 2021 the complete Handel Organ Concertos.
