La Petite Bande

Belgian Baroque Ensemble

La Petite Bande is a renowned chamber orchestra that specializes in Baroque and early Classical music, founded in 1972 by the Belgian violinist and conductor Sigiswald Kuijken. The ensemble was initially formed for the purpose of recording Lully's "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" for Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, but due to the success of this project, La Petite Bande continued to perform and record extensively. The name of the group is inspired by Lully's own "Petite Bande," which was a small group of musicians who played for Louis XIV. Under Kuijken's direction, La Petite Bande has gained a reputation for its historically informed performances using period instruments and techniques appropriate to the era of the music they perform. Their repertoire spans from Baroque to early Romantic music, with a particular emphasis on the works of composers such as Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart. The ensemble's discography includes numerous acclaimed recordings that have contributed significantly to the field of early music performance practice.