FILIÆ
About FILIÆ
FILIÆ is a baroque ensemble of four musicians : two sopranos (Tatiana Donets & Élisabeth Goethals), viola da gamba/recorder (Laura Pok) and harpsichord/organ (Momoyo Kokubu).
The group was created on the day of Easter in 2015 and named after the Gregorian chant « O Filii e Filiæ ». The members of the group come from different origines but all of them have studied in the baroque classes of Belgian Conservatories. They are professors in the music schools in Belgium.
Elisabeth Goethals
Soprano
Elisabeth Goethals was born in Brussels in 1969. Having obtained the theatrical study diploma from the Univercité Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, Elisabeth entered the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles where she obtained the premier prix of singing (Prof. Jules Bastin) and the chamber music (Guy Van Waas). She had also received vocal lessons from Claudine Arnaud, Elena Nentwig, Greta De Reyghere, Rachel Yakar, Steve Dugardin and Lena Lootens.
She was a member of the Choeur de Chambre de Namur between 1996 and 2007, with whom she has performed and participated in the recordings under different conductors : S.Kuijken, J.Tubéry, M. Minkowsky, J.C. Malgoire, P.Davin, P.Dombrecht and C.Deslignes.
Elisabeth sings as a soloist in the oratorios of all periods, in the cantates of J.S. Bach as well as the operas of Lully and Purcell.
She has worked particularly with the themes of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene with the works of Mérula, Frescobaldi, Monteverdi, Purcell. Her CDs include « Mal de Mer, Mal d’Amour » using the music and the literature of the 17-18th centuries describing the life and death of sea creatures like mermades.
She directs a children’s choir with her own association Chantourinnes, created with Olivier Habran, and teaches in the music academy of Jodoigne in Belgium.
Elisabeth has great interests in the body-voice relations and followed Anatomie pour la Voix (Prf. B. Calais-Germain) sessions, in the psychophony and in the prenatal singing. She helps people through voices giving sessions on respiration.
Tatiana Donets
soprano
Tatiana Donets was born in Kiev, Ukraina in 1983. In 1990 she entered the music academy in Kiev and obtained the diploma in piano with distinction in 2000. At the age of 9 she became member of the children’s traditional choir Svitanok with whom she toured throughout Europe. Having studied the foreign languages in Kiev, she entered the singing class in the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles in 2003 (Prof. L. de San). During her years at the Conservatoiry, Tatiana sang with different choirs, studied the baroque singing (Prof. S. Van Dyck and with the Studio Baroque) and the contemporary singing (Prof. M. Pousseur), the musical theatre (Prof. P. Sublet) and the bel canto (Prof. N. Denize).
In 2009 she has interpreted the role of the Little Red Riding Hood in the opera of J.-L. Aubert «La foret bleue» at l’Opéra royal de Wallonie and the principal role in the operetta of F. Boildieu «Les voitures versées». In 2010 she played the role of Catarina, in the operreta of J. Offenbach «Le pont des soupirs», participated in the «La vie parisienne» of the same composer in collaboration with the Camera lirica and sang the role of Bastienne in the «Bastien et Bastienne» of W. A. Mozart.
Since 2010 she gives lessons of the group singing and the music formation in the music academy of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in Brussels. In 2016 Tatiana has obtained the diploma of the choir direction (Prof. D. Menier) in the Conservatoire Royal de Mons (B). Today she directs choirs of the music academy of Jette and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Voces Desuper of the Brussels Cathedral, the Vox Finisterrae of the Finisterrae church, and the female choir Ottavina.
Tatiana is the pedagogic adviser of the children’s choir Cantania of the Bozar since 2015 and a guide at the MIM (Musical Intrument Musium) both in Brussels. With her interests in languages and history she is also a professional touristic guide for English speaking cruising tours in Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, and Suitzerland.
Laura Pok
viola da gamba and recorder
Laura Pok was born in Brussels in 1976. In 1994, She entered the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles where she obtained the premiers prix of harmony, counterpoint et history of music with distinctions, as well as the diplômes supérieurs of the recorder (Prof. Frédéric de Roos), the solfege and the chamber music (Prof. Guy Van Waas), all of them with grande distinction. She was a winner of the Concours Axion Classics as a recorder player.
Today Laura plays with numerous orchestras and ensembles (les Muffatti, la Cetra d’Orfeo, la Chapelle des Minimes, La Lettera amorosa , Sferarte, les Agrémens, Scherzi Musicali, Alba Novella Brussels Consort, l'Ensemble 21). She has appeared as a soloist with l'Orchestre de chambre de Wallonie, la Pastorella, la Chapelle de Tournai, l'Ensemble Orchestral de Bruxelles, Il Gardellino, Desafinado. She has performed and given lessons in masterclasses throughout Europe, in the USA and in Asia. Her CDs include « Incipit », recorded with the organist Cindy Castillo on the organ of Maredsous (B) and « Exercitium », transcriptions of Bach works with the Ensemble Laterna Magica.
Laura Pok teaches the recorder in the music academies of Nivelles, Forest and Ixelles in Belgium, as well as the lecture and transposition, and the recorder consort in the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles. Besides, she enjoys playing the viola da gamba and cooking, and has a diploma in law.
Momoyo Kokubu
harpsichord and organ
Momoyo Kokubu was born in Osaka, Japan in 1968. She has studied the piano from the age of 4 with Prof. I. Asakura and from 15 the organ with Prof. M. Akimoto in Tokyo. In 1988 she entered the Royal College of Music in London, where she studied the organ (Prof. N.Danby), the harpsichord and the fortepiano (Prof. R. Wooly), the piano (Prof. P. Element) and the Early Music (L. Besnosiuk). She obtained the organ performer’s diploma in 1992 with the Harold Dark Prize. In 1994 she won the first prize as a fortepianist with the classical « Ensemble Galant » in the Croft Sherry Early Music Competition in London.
Since 1995 Momoyo lives in Brussels and she obtained the premier prix of the organ (Prof. J. Ferrard) with grande distinction and the Prix Alphonse Mailly in 2000, and the diploma of teaching in 2004 from the Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Bruxelles. Momoyo was finalist in the Internatinal Silbermann Organ Competition of Freiberg(D) for Bach works in 1995, and in the International Organ Competition of Maastricht (N) for renaissance to contemporary works in 2000.
She is co-titulaire organist of Our-Lady of Finisterrae church where she plays messes, cares the choir Vox Finisterrae, and organises the lunch time concert the Lundi d’Orgue on the restaured Loret-Thomas organ (1856) since 2000. She teaches the organ in music academies in Watermael-Boitsfort and at the St-Grégoire music academy of Tournai, and in her own Petite École d’Orgue de Bruxelles.
She has recorded 6 organ CDs under the label MeloPhone, of works of C. Franck (the violin sonata with organ arrangement), M. Duruflé’s Requiem, and 4 CDs of J.S. Bach’s 6 trio sonatas by tonality (e-minor, c-minor, d-minor and G-major) on different organs of Europe. All her Bach CDs have received best prizes in the Japanese musical review Record Geijyutsu.
Momoyo plays organ recitals or in four hands with her husband Xavier Deprez in Europe and in Japan. In Japan, she also gives masterclasses and conferences for the GTO (ecumenical organists association), and writes articles for christian music journals.