LouiseAcabo
continuo player
albumChambonnières0verseas
Alpha Classics • Released on 08.22.25
Alpha Classics proudly presents “Baroque Stories”, a new series of recordings devoted to young talents in early music; its first recording introduces Louise Acabo, a French harpsichordist and winner of several international competitions who divides her time between Paris and Basel. She has chosen to devote her debut recording to Jacques Champion de Chambonnières (ca1601-1672), composer of more than 150 harpsichord pieces and the first French musician of the 17th century to publish volumes of works for harpsichord. "Once you have heard the harpsichord played by the Sieur de Chambonnières, you need hear nothing else”, stated the Harmonie universelle of 1636. It was this unique relationship with sound that appealed to Louise Acabo: "his writing, eminently vocal, demands that the player transcend the mechanical aspect of the instrument and approach its strength and fragility with suppleness". Although Chambonnières never left France, his work crossed borders and influenced composers abroad, the English in particular. Louise Acabo has constructed her own list of works from available sources, alternating works by Chambonnières with compositions by Locke, Preston and Bryne.
about
A winner of several international competitions,Louise Acabo has built her career in Paris, performing bothas a harpsichord soloist and on a variety of other instrumentsin a wide-ranging repertoire of chamber music.
A winner of several international competitions, Louise Acabo has built her career in Paris, performing both as a harpsichord soloist and on a variety of other instruments in a wide-ranging repertoire of chamber music.
Described by the Spanish newspaper El País as “the best surprise of the week and the latest gem in the inexhaustible French tradition of great harpsichordists” following the Oudemuziek Festival in Utrecht, Louise pursues a career as a soloist and continuo player with Baroque ensembles and her own ensemble, The Banxhies.
Trained in harpsichord from the age of 7 by Aline Zylberajch at the Strasbourg Conservatory, Louise joined the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis at age 18, first studying with Jörg-Andreas Bötticher and then with Francesco Corti. That same year, she won the Corneille Competition in Rouen, before winning prizes in other international competitions, such as the Bach-Wettbewerb in Leipzig and La Capella Musicale in Milan. Louise also earned a Concert Artist Diploma under Béatrice Martin in Paris. She is a laureate of the Royaumont Foundation, the Boubo-Music Foundation, and the Jeunes Talents Association.
While intuition plays an important role in her approach to music, Louise also has a keen interest in research and pedagogy. This interest was demonstrated in her thesis, The Body and Harpsichord Techniques in 18th- and 19th-Century France, which received an award from the Walter & Corina Christen-Marchal Foundation.
As a soloist, Louise is regularly invited to perform at venues such as the Elbphilharmonie and festivals including the Oude Muziek Festival in Utrecht, the Froville Easter Festival, Bel-Air Claviers, Viva Musica, the Midsummer Festival in Hardelot, the Lanvellec Festival, Interfinity, and Cembalo in der Stadt Basel.
Since 2025, she has been a resident soloist at the Singer-Polignac Foundation, as well as with The Banxhies.
Highly regarded as a continuo player, Louise performs with orchestras, primarily with Le Concert de la Loge, but also with Le Consort, Vox Luminis, Ricercar Consort, Jupiter, Pygmalion, Masques, La Chapelle Harmonique, Insula Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Il Gran Teatro del Mundo, and Il Caravaggio.
She also performs in smaller ensembles, notably with The Banxhies, a trio sonata ensemble co-founded in 2022, as well as in duo programs with Julien Chauvin, Victor Julien-Laferrière, Anna Besson, and Hanna Salzenstein.
Although the harpsichord remains her primary instrument, she also explores other repertoires, notably through the organ and the pianoforte.
“Very young, and with great room to continue maturing, Acabo presents herself as a performer with enormous international potential.”
Luis Gago, El País“her temperament, as assertive as it is poetic”
Alain Cochard, Concert Classic“a nobility never stiff and a tremendous sonic fullness”
Alain Cochard, Concert Classic“Louise Acabo took her time before releasing her first solo recording and is amply rewarded: a first attempt, a masterstroke!”
Alain Cochard, Concert Classic“Her album thus combines solid musicological research with a true interpretative drive. [...] Just listen to her playing to be convinced: she perfectly embodies this ideal.”
Eleonore Büning, SWR Kultur“The only thing missing from this picture, painted with infinite poetry and a very elegant and moving touch of melancholy, very English, is the wonderful and magnificent Louis Couperin.”
Francis Lippa, Titus Curiosus“The ornamentation, with its controlled abundance, gives magnificent breadth to her Chaconne Rondeau, and the metrical freedom of her Prelude is admirably rendered […] All of this makes one eager to hear this promising young musician again soon.”
Jean-Christophe Pucek, Diapason
events
Recital
Paris (FR) • Fondation Singer-PolignacÉchos de Venise
Saint Michel en Thiérache (FR)+ info+ info- 8:30pm
La Création – J. Haydn
Paris (FR) • Cathédrale Notre Dame de ParisThomas Hengelbrock - Orchestre de chambre de Paris
+ info+ info - 8:30pm
La Création – J. Haydn
Paris (FR) • Cathédrale Notre Dame de ParisThomas Hengelbrock - Orchestre de chambre de Paris
+ info+ info Quatre Saisons dansées
Rome (IT) • Accademia Nazionale di Santa CeciliaLe Concert de la Loge
+ info+ info- 6:30pm
Festival de la Roque d'Anthéron
La Roque d'Anthéron (FR) • Cloître de l'Abbaye de SilvacaneWith Hanna Salzenstein
+ info+ info 47°Nord
Bruges (BE) • MA FestivalThe Banshies
47°Nord
Vicq-sur-Gartempe (FR) • Festival Les Chaises musicalesThe Banshies
listen
photos
Download photos in HD
Projects& ensembles
Thesis & Research
The BODY & HARPSICHORD TECHNIQUES IN 17TH AND 18TH CENTURY FRANCE.
Read the thesis →
Perspectives on the body and playing techniques through historical harpsichord methods, master's thesis at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, 2022.The BanXhies
In Irish mythology, the Banshee is a messenger from another world. The four musicians of The BanXhies felt the need to form their own ensemble in order to create a safe space for them to experiment freely. The ensemble, consisting of two violins, a cello, and a keyboard, explores the repertoire of the trio sonata, but also other instrumental formations, and sometimes vocal.
Visit the website →
contact
For any inquiry, please contact Louise directly via email:
louiseacabo@gmail.com