La Petite Bande in residence in the City of Leuven, Belgium was founded in 1972 by Sigiswald Kuijken at the request of a record company in order to record Lully's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. The orchestra takes its name and constitution from Lully's own orchestra at the court of Louis XIV. All its members are internationally renowned specialists in the early music field. Although originally La Petite Bande was not meant to become a permanent orchestra, its success was such that they began to give concerts regularly. Having initially concentrated mainly on French music, the orchestra's repertoire has expanded over the years to include music by the Italian masters and that of Bach, Handel, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart and others. La Petite Bande has recorded instrumental as well as vocal music, including operas and oratorios from the Baroque and Classical periods and has performed in a multitude of international festivals and concert series, in Europe, Japan, Australia, South America and China.