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The Beggar's.

The Beggar's

Eager to defend the instrumental repertoire above all, The Beggar's ensemble has several creation / research projects for the years to come, such as a recording project aimed at affirming the existence of an English school of violin through the works of native composers of Great-Britain in the 18th century; or the exploration of the French repertoire with a recording dedicated to the concertos of Jean-Marie Leclair.

It is in the permanent questioning of musical modes of expression that the ensemble finds its specificity. Combining a pronounced taste for artistic risk-taking and a "sound" of its own, thanks to a rich work of instrumentation / ornamentation, the ensemble has a custom of never leaving its audience indifferent.

It cannot be appreciated enough when a young ensemble presents itself with music which does not belong to the mainstream. However, it is even more important from a musical point of view. Established ensembles tend to confine themselves to the standard repertoire. (..)
Johan van Veen (© 2020)

The Beggar's Ensemble was formed in 2016 around Daria Zemele , harpsichordist, and Augustin Lusson , violinist. A common passion for the improbable and the atypical leads them to focus on a repertoire unfairly ignored, to want to put back on the front of the stage these composers too little favored by the passage of the years; all covered with a healthy layer of derision and accompanied by an irrepressible desire to do nothing like everyone else, never.

The starting point of this research is Richard 'Dicky' Jones (? - 1744), a London composer whose avant-garde, even iconoclastic work offers us an unexpected window on life in London at the beginning of the 18th century. His opus 2, Chamber Air's for a Violin , was the subject of the ensemble's first recording, produced by the Flora label and was widely acclaimed by the critics (Diapason d'or , Coup de coeur Classica ).

After making their debut at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Beggar's Ensemble is regularly invited to perform in France and abroad in venues or festivals such as the Palace of the Dukes in Munich, the Oude muziek Festival in Utrecht, the WDR3 Funkhaus in Köln or the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 2017, the ensemble won the WDR3 radio prize during the international baroque music competition HIF Biber and in 2018 won the 1st prize , audience prize and the Season Award during the Van Wassenaer competition at the Oude Muiziek Festival in Utrecht.

Augustin Lusson

Violin | Artistic Direction

Defined as a tightrope soloist, Augustin Lusson is one of the most singular baroque violinist of his generation. Noticed at the age of 18 by the violinist and conductor Sigiswald Kuijken, he followed him in 2016 on a Japan/Netherlands tour with La Petite Bande.

He is the co-founder and artistic director of The Beggar's ensemble ; a baroque ensemble whose intention is to revive the English instrumental repertoire of the 18th century. The first recording of the ensemble dedicated to the composer Richard Jones is a great success (Diapason d'or, Coup de coeur Classica).

He as recorded for Flora, Son an Ero, Alpha Classics, Erato, Maguelone.

Dedicated to self-production, Augustin decides in 2020 to set up his own recording label Bathos records in which he work as a musician, audio engineer, graphic designer or producer.

He collaborated with baroque ensembles like Almazis (I.Pappas), Ricercar Consort (P. Pierlot), Le Concert Spirituel (H. Niquet) Les musiciens de Saint-Julien (F. Lazarevich), Le poème harmonique (V. Dumestre), Le Banquet Céleste or La Petite Bande (S. Kuijken) with which he travels through France and the world.

Augustin started his classical violin studies at the age of 4 with Brigitte Barat in Poitiers, Patrick Bismuth in Versailles and finally Odile Édouard at the national conservatory in Lyon. Having a youth surrounded by early music, he naturally turned to historically informed performance in addition to his interest for traditional, experimental music or even in sound recording.

This diversity in the practice of the violin led him to set up with the guitar player Tom Namias a very personnal project called DSF with which he will release an album in 2021. He has also founded the french folk music duo Parpaing with the double bass player Antonin Pauquet with whom he released an album entitled Port du casque obligatoire. He has also collaborated with the avant-garde jazz group Ghost Rythm .

His musical and artistic commitment was rewarded with the Second Prize at the 1st International Baroque Music Competition of Normandy at the Chapelle Corneille as well as the WDR 3 prize at the HIF Biber Competition in 2016. In 2018, he won the 1st prize, the audience Prize and the NPO Radio Prize with The Beggar's Ensemble at the Utrecht International Early Music Competition (Van Wassenaer).

Laureate of the Jumpstart Jr foundation in Amsterdam, Augustin benefits from the loan of an exceptional instrument for a period of 10 years. Augustin is teaching at the Conservatory of Fresnes.