L'Achéron

In Greek mythology Acheron is the river that Orpheus crossed to rescue Eurydice from the underworld. As itsname implies, L’Achéron wants to open a path between two apparently opposed worlds: that of the living and that of the dead, the past and the present, idealism and reality.

Created in 2009 by François Joubert-Caillet, L’Achéron is made up of a young generation of musicians from veryvaried backgrounds, all of them having studied in some of the best known schools for ancient music (Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, the Paris and Lyon National Conservatories, the Royal Music Conservatories of Brussels and The Hague, etc.). Some of these musicians have other artistic talents : acting, theatre direction, contemporary as well as renaissance and baroque dancing, writing, drawing, improvisation, pupeteering, instrument making and sound mixing, make up the range of passions present in the group.

L’Achéron seeks to strengthen ties between the musicians and the public by making ancient music more accessible, without denaturing it but to the contrary, by exploring the variety of musical instruments and genres of the renaissance and baroque periods. By trying to render the many nuances of this rich and vibrant music, L’Achéron proposes a journey through time and the senses where the flavours of the past are brought to life.

Initially L’Achéron was a viola da gamba consort and has worked since 2013 in collaboration with the instrument maker Arnaud Giral on the construction of a typically English consort. Until now, five instruments have been brought to life, giving the consort a unique cohesion and harmonic depth. A virginals and an positive organ will join them soon…

L’Achéron regularly works with artists from other spheres : in L’Orgue du Sultan, it collaborated with the ensemble Sultan Veled in a meeting between elizabethan and ottoman musics, the Lachrimæ Lyræ with the master of greek lyra Sokratis Sinopoulos ; it will also take part in an album of electronic music with DJ Marc Romboy and Tamar Halperin.

L’Achéron is regularly invited to perform in various festivals and musical seasons in Europe such as Saintes, Sablé and Royaumont Festivals, Auditorium du Louvre, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Festival Bach de Lausanne, Bruges’ Concertgebouw, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Warsaw Philharmonie, etc.

L’Achéron records for Ricercar – Outhere and has released so far The Fruit of Love devoted to Anthony Holborne, the Ludi Musici by Samuel Scheidt (winner of the Diapason d’Or), Johann Caspar Kerll’s Requiem with the ensemble Vox Luminis, Ouvertures by Johann Bernhard Bach (Echo Klassik), Pièces Favorites by Marin Marais from whom François Joubert-Caillet started to record the integrality of the Pièces de Viole (the 1st Book has been awarded by a Diapason d’Or and a Choc de Classica). Last release in october 2017 : Fancies for the viols by Orlando Gibbons, used by Robert Carsen in his Tempest by William Shakespeare at the Comédie Française.

September 2019