L'Achéron

England in the 1600s was a formidable artistic breeding ground: the end of the reign of Elizabeth I and the beginning of that of James I (Mary Stuart's son) saw the arts inspired by continental Europe (particularly Italy for music and France for dance), benefiting from the renaissance tradition, new technical advances (in violin making, for example), and the British identity asserting itself militarily and religiously, all of which created an exceptional dynamic, resulting in a unique music that was both modern and conservative, and multiform.

The consort songs are a striking example: The consort of violas da gamba, a symbol of Renaissance polyphonic music largely influenced by the Italian madrigal, is associated with the voice in both religious and secular music, in a repertoire where melancholy and lightness are not mutually exclusive but complement each other, where the sublime of Nature and God are sung and where the beauties and weaknesses of Man are painted in an incomparable musical setting, never renewed in the history of music.

Cast

Alice Duport-Percier, soprano
François Joubert-Caillet, viola da gamba
Andreas Linos, tenor viola
Aude-Marie Piloz, bass viol
Julie Dessaint, bass viol