Into the Winds

Into the Winds is a French ensemble that offers innovative thematic concerts showcasing wind and brass instruments of the Renaissance. The group released its debut album, Le Parfaict Danser: Dance Music 1300-1500, in 2023. Into the Winds was founded in 2017 by a group of French musicians specializing in early wind and brass instruments, with the intent of introducing the music of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance to a wide circle of listeners. The five members are Anabelle Guibaud, Adrien Reboisson, Marion le Moal, Rémi Lécorché, and Laurent Sauron. Sauron is the percussionist, and Lécorché specializes in brass instruments such as the sackbut and medieval trumpet. He also plays recorders, and the four non-percussion members often trade among such instruments as recorders, shawms, bombardes, douçaines (dulcians), early bassoons, and more. The players had all studied early music at regional French conservatories. The group underwent in-depth training at the Tours Conservatory and took several master classes and internships in various European countries. An early breakthrough for Into the Winds was the jury prize at the Van Wassenaer International Competition of the Oude Muziek Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group became affiliated with the EEEMERGING+ program and through that, was able to appear at the Festival d'Ambronay in 2020. Into the Winds offers thematic programs: Le Parfait Danser, focusing on dance music from 1300 to 1500; Le Souffle Gothique, featuring French music of the 13th century; and Le Grand Embrasement, created in 2022 to mark the 600th anniversary of the death of King Charles VI. The group's concerts are immersive, mixing media, including texts, images, and video, all tied to narration that is rooted in the contemporary world. In 2023, Into the Winds had a full schedule, making a return visit to the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht and also appearing at major events in France (including the Flâneries Musicales de Reims and the Festival Baroque de Tarentaise) and beyond (such as La Cité Bleue in Geneva, Switzerland). That year, the group released Le Parfaict Danser on the Ricercar label.
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