The Curious Bards

Ilektra Platiopoulou, mezzo-soprano
Pierre Gallon, pianoforte
Jean-Christophe Morel, cittern
Sarah Van Oudenhove, cello
Alix Boivert, violin

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, folk tunes from Ireland and Scotland enjoyed tremendous popularity throughout Europe. Collected, published, and widely disseminated, these traditional melodies captivated not only a broad audience but also the greatest composers of the time. Among them, Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven helped bring this repertoire into European salons through their collaborations with Scottish publishers, notably George Thomson.

Through their numerous arrangements, Haydn and Beethoven gave these songs a new musical dimension. Far from being mere harmonizations, each composer developed a personal musical language: in Haydn’s work, clarity of expression, elegance, and wit combine with profound sensitivity; in Beethoven’s, the power of contrasts and expressive intensity open up new horizons. While preserving the character of the original melodies, both composers surround them with a refined accompaniment, blending piano, violin, and cello in a subtle dialogue between oral tradition and classical composition.

This repertoire reveals a more intimate and sometimes little-known side of the two composers. Love, exile, nostalgia, nature, and humor run through these songs, whose nuances they illuminate with equal parts inventiveness and delicacy. From romantic confessions to drinking songs, from melancholic laments to mischievous tales, their arrangements bring to life the full diversity of a deeply human poetic world.

Alongside these vocal pieces, instrumental works evoke the traditional dances of Ireland and Scotland. Here we find the energy of the reel, the liveliness of Irish jigs, and the assertive character of the Scottish strathspey—all forms that attest to the richness of these musical traditions and further the dialogue between folk repertoires and chamber music.

This program thus offers an immersion in a unique repertoire, bringing together traditional melodies and the imagination of two great masters. It invites listeners to rediscover Haydn and Beethoven through the lens of folk music and to explore, through music, the evocative landscapes of Ireland and Scotland.