L'Achéron

Henry Purcell's Fantasias may never have been performed during the composer's lifetime, and although they are often performed in viol consort and their writing largely implies this, they were not specifically written for that formation: in the second half of the 17th century, few composers were still writing for the viol consort in England, which had become a very private, experimental musical practice, aimed at a few aficionados who regretted the Jacobean golden age of the early 17th century. Composers such as John Jenkins, Christopher Simpson and William Lawes were among the last to continue composing for the viol consort, probably writing its most extreme works: one might imagine that Purcell wanted to compete with these musicians by playing what he considered to be the richest and most complex polyphonic music.

Purcell was an organist and harpsichordist, and it is interesting to put the viol consort in context with these keyboards: the reading that Acheron offers here is intended to come as close as possible to this organistic vision of Purcell's Fantasias, with the idea of playing a kind of string organ, an ideal and chimerical instrument for this experimental music. Some works by contemporaries such as William Lawes, John Jenkins or Christopher Simpson also punctuate this programme. 

These Fantasies paint the swan song of the viol consort, a music apart from Purcell's work: perhaps a short-lived refuge or a moment of experimentation, they remain mysterious pieces that are at once nostalgic and innovative, conservative and modern, timeless and unique.

Cast

François Joubert-Caillet viola da gamba 
Julie Dessaint tenor viol
Aude-Marie Piloz bass viol
Sarah van Oudenhove bass viol