Mireille Podeur
studied the harpsichord, music theory and chamber music at the Paris Conservatory and then under Kenneth Gilbert at Maintenon Château and the Salzburg Mozarteum University. She also has a postgraduate degree in musicology from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. A Ministry of Culture grant enabled her to spend a year in the USA and Canada where she made a series of programmes for Radio Canada on keyboard repertoire. Returning to teach at Rouen University, she founded Arts Baroques, an ensemble which performed in numerous festivals (e.g. Sablé, Ambronnay, Dieppe, Nantes Printemps des Arts, La Chabotterie). Together with Rouen Opera Company she directed her ensemble in an award-winning recording of the opera Euridice by Jacopo Peri (Maguelone records) and was commissioned to work for three years at Rouen’s Théâtre des Arts on masterclasses in 17th century Italian opera with Howard Crook and Isabelle Poulenard. An invitation to work with Jean-Luc Impe’s Les Menus Plaisirs du Roy baroque opera company led to productions at Ambronnay, Sablé, Brussels, Paris, la Chabotterie, Versailles Orangerie and making recordings for Arte television’s Musica series.

After teaching at Rouen University she became head of the Early Music departments at Nice Conservatory and then at Limoges Conservatory where she has developed a number of baroque operas for the students including for example Orfeo by Luigi Rossi in collaboration with choreographer Gilles Poirier, linguistic specialist Paolo Zedda and Thomas Leconte from Versailles Centre for Baroque Music.

The double harpsichord duo Podeur & Bass was formed in 2013 with Orlando Bass and so far has released a succession of baroque and contemporary works recorded on Maguelone label. These include transcriptions for two harpsichords of J. Ph. Rameau’s Pièces de clavecin en Concerts (2013), the Concerti Grossi opus 6 by Handel (2015), Four Seasons by Piazzolla and Estancia by Ginastera (2017) plus François Couperin and Gaspard Leroux (2018/19).

Orlando Bass
is a Franco-British pianist, harpsichord player, composer and accompanist. He has studied arrangement and composition (Fabien Waksman, Jean-Baptiste Courtois, Thierry Escaich, Alain Mabit), accompaniment (JeanFrédéric Neuburger, Erika Guiomar), improvisation (Jean- François Zygel) and is completing a degree in piano under Roger Muraro at the CNSMD Paris Conservatory. Currently writing a thesis on composer, painter and engraver Michel Ciry, Orlando has been championing the composer by performing his works in recitals and preparing a series of recordings. Recent awards obtained in international competitions include first prize at the Paris Festival-Competition (2016) in modern piano repertoire, first prize at Les Virtuoses du Cœur (2016) and first prize at the Paola Bernardi Harpsichord Competition in Bologna, Italy (2015).

In adition to the harpsichord duo with Mireille Podeur, transcribing and recording works for the Maguelone label, Orlando Bass has also recorded a programme of modern and contemporary Preludes & Fugues for the piano on the Indésens label.

A growing body of personal compositions and commissions so far includes mostly music for piano, chamber ensembles and solo instruments. He is also a regular improviser for projections of silent films and a much solicited player for the first performances of contemporary solo or chamber works.