Ensemble Le Banquet Céleste is built around one voice: that of countertenor Damien Guillon. Trained at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles and at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Damien Guillon spent the first part of his career with such renowned conductors as William Christie, Hervé Niquet, François-Xavier Roth and above all Philippe Herreweghe, with whom he toured the world.
With Ensemble Le Banquet Céleste, which he founded in 2009, he explores the Baroque repertoire specifically dedicated to the countertenor/alto voice. The recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantatas for alto solo BWV 170 and 35, released in 2012 (Zig-Zag territories), were highly praised by the critics. The cohesion of the musicians, driven by the same freedom and goodwill, is striking. Le Banquet Céleste is not an orchestra serving a soloist, but an ensemble in which Damien Guillon's voice is an instrument of the collective.
In 2016 and 2017, Le Banquet Céleste opened up to Italy with a second recording, “Bach et l’Italie” (Glossa), and numerous programmes honouring Italian composers such as Pergolesi, Vivaldi and Frescobaldi. Caldara's oratorio “Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo” opened the 2017 La Chaise-Dieu Festival. In 2019 and 2020, two CDs would follow: the first on the Cantatas for alto solo BWV 169 and 82 and the second a tribute to Alessandro Stradella.
We have been partners of Le Banquet Céleste since September 2017.