La Fontaine and music: the fable could be that of a missed encounter. While so many writers of his time knew how to build close friendships with leading musicians, La Fontaine, despite several attempts, never achieved that encounter with the sons of Euterpe. Yet the themes he explores in his works, the patrons who took him under their protection, and even the controversies in which he was entangled, allow us to sketch a musical biography of the man of letters. All the great names of the age come to life, from Dumont to Lully, from Charpentier to Sainte-Colombe, in registers as varied as the tastes of the impertinent author of the Fables: from drinking songs to plainchant, through opera, consort music and the comédie-ballet…
(this programme also exists in a “short and simplified” version adapted to cultural outreach, young audiences, schools, etc.)
Performers
Marie Favier – mezzo-soprano
Aude-Marie Piloz – viola da gamba
Francisco Mañalich – tenor & viola da gamba
Cyrille Métivier – violin
Camille Rancière – alto