Les Timbres & Harmonia Lenis
Biography Les Timbres & Harmonia Lenis
Les Timbres
Winners of the Lyon Conservatory of Music and Dance, First Prize at the Bruges International Chamber Music Competition (Belgium – 2009), Japanese violinist Yoko Kawakubo, French violist Myriam Rignol and Belgian harpsichordist Julien Wolfs form a trio with a unique identity.
Their chamber music work is very specific: the musicians choose certain key works, take the time to develop them, and then add them to their repertoire. They have been living with certain pieces for some fifteen years, which gives their interpretation unparalleled freedom and depth.
Since their first recordings in 2014, Les Timbres have established themselves as an essential ensemble in 17th- and 18th-century chamber music.
Their first two recordings, Jean-Philippe Rameau's Pièces de clavecin en Concerts and François Couperin's Concerts Royaux, each won a Diapason d'Or award.
They won a third Diapason d'Or with their recording of Dietrich Buxtehude's complete Trio Sonatas. This project focusing on German music around Bach was made possible thanks to a residency at the Bach en Combrailles festival (2019-2021).
Their repertoire expands every year with new gems. In 2023, La Gamme by Marin Marais will be released after 10 years of concerts featuring this programme. And they will receive a fourth Diapason d'Or.
While trio music is the foundation of their artistic project, they are regularly joined by other artists (singers, notably Marc Mauillon, instrumentalists, dancers, actors, etc.) with whom they share projects combining research, creation and transmission.
They are keen participants in contemporary music, winning the prize for best contemporary creation (Bruges 2009) and premiering Philippe Hersant's cantata Nun Komm (closing the Bach en Combrailles festival in August 2019).
Invited to perform at the most prestigious concert halls in Europe (France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands), they have forged a special bond with Japan, where they travel every two years to join the Harmonia Lenis ensemble for concert tours.
Without compromising the demands of their concert careers, teaching plays a central role in their work. While teaching at both beginner and advanced levels, their six-year residency (2013-2019) at the Musique et Mémoire festival in Haute-Saône enabled them to set up numerous artistic and cultural education projects, giving rise to programmes for young children such as ‘Snow White and the Seven Notes’ and the ‘Musical Tournament’.
Authenticity and the joy of sharing: Les Timbres' concerts are, for the audience, an experience to be savoured in the intensity of suspended moments – emotions, joy, communion...
Kenichi Mizuuchi
Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music, Department of Music Theory. While majoring in musicology, he also studied the recorder. In 2003, he went to study at the Cologne University of Music in Germany. In 2008, he graduated from the Diploma Programme in Recorder at the same university and obtained a Performer's Diploma. He then specialised in Recorder at the National Performer's Qualification Programme at the same university. At the same time, he specialised in Early Music Ensemble and graduated from the same programme at the same university in 2009. During his time in Europe, he performed solo and in ensembles, mainly in Cologne. He returned to Japan in 2009. Since then, he has been actively performing in various locations and devoting himself to teaching. He studied recorder under Akira Mukai, Dorothee Oberlinger, and Karin van Heerden. He studied chamber music under Rainer Zippering and Shetil Haugstad. In 2013, he appeared on NHK-BS Premium's ‘Classic Club’ and NHK-FM's ‘Best of Classic.’ He also appeared on NHK Radio's high school lecture series ‘Music?’ as a recorder instructor. During his 2014 European tour, he performed at seven music festivals in France and Belgium and recorded a CD.
Akemi Murakami
Graduated from Ueno Gakuen University Faculty of Music, Department of Instrumental Music, Harpsichord Major, and completed graduate studies at Toho Gakuen University Faculty of Music, Harpsichord Major. Subsequently graduated from the Cologne University of Music, Harpsichord Department, with the highest honours, and obtained a performer's diploma and German national performer's qualification. She also teaches students as a répétiteur at Cologne University of Music and various seminars throughout Europe. She is currently active in solo, ensemble, and orchestral performances throughout Asia and Europe. In 2013, she appeared on NHK-BS Premium's ‘Classic Club’ and NHK-FM's ‘Best of Classic,’ receiving high praise. In 2014, he performed at numerous music festivals in France and Belgium and also participated in CD recordings. He studied harpsichord under Junsei Watanabe and Sigurd Hauge, and ensemble under Rainer Zippering. He won the top prize in the harpsichord category at the 23rd International Early Music Competition in Yamanashi.
