Biography
Having begun playing music at the age of five, Emmanuel Girard studied at the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where he earned his diplomas in cello, chamber music and in the baroque department. He subsequently deepened his knowledge of Art history at the Sorbonne University, where his main thesis focused on Renaissance music.
Over the decades, he has performed concerts throughout Europe, in the United States, and more recently in Asia, in Korea and Japan, where he currently resides. Since 2009, he has taught cello, viola da gamba and chamber music at Tokyo's Toho Gakuen University, and since 2016 he has also been a professor at Miyagi Gakuin University.
His deep interest in the different periods of music history naturally led him to the study and practice of early instruments. This has enabled him to explore in depth the beauty of the Renaissance and Baroque repertoire.
Performing on Viols, Baryton and Lirone enable him to appreciate the authentic sound and the particular style of each composer and create a meaningful interpretation of those periods.
Named after Italian violinist Giovanni Battista Marella, who played a key role in introducing Telemann's quartets to Parisian audiences, the Ensemble Marella, founded in 2015, has established itself as a major player in the interpretation of works ranging from the Baroque repertoire to Romantic composers, performed on period instruments.
Several active members make up the Ensemble Marella, each contributing their expertise during recordings and concerts, thereby enriching and diversifying the repertoire performed.
—Thibaut Roussel (theorbo & archiluth)
—Harpsichordists Sébastien Daucé, Tomoko Nozawa, Mikiko Umetsu, Minako Tatsumi,
—Fortepianist Chie Hirai
—Miho Kamiya, Madoka Koike (Violin)
—Laurent Dublanchet (Viola da Gamba)
—Yamada Megumu (Cello).
This ensemble, with decades of experience, has recorded four CDs illustrating its musical journey. It begins with Baroque works, such as Marin Marais' Suite d'un goût étranger and Antoine Forqueray's Suites (Volume 1 & 2) before exploring the Romantic period with a CD dedicated to Schubert.