projects and programmes
We love devising programmes inspired by historical characters and we love to perform them in a relaxed atmosphere, inspired by the Parisian salons of the 17th and 18th centuries. Whilst we have a number of popular programmes that we know and enjoy delivering, we also frequently collaborate with festivals and promotors to create new programmes that draw on particular themes. For further details of our programmes, please get in touch with us via the contact form on our website.
With generous help from our friends, supporters and the Vaughan Williams Foundation, we commissioned composer Clare Elton to write us a song cycle, set to the text of sonnets by the 16th century Lionnaise poet Louise Labé.
The new compositions slot perfectly into our popular programme Les Femmes Illustres which showcases brilliant female writers and actresses in 17th century Paris and London.
Louise Labé was a 16th century Lionnaise writer who, whilst born to a family of ropemakers, and marrying one (earning her the nickname La Belle Cordiere), became a writer and frequented the literary salons of Lyon. Her style bears a strong influence of Petrarch in poetry as well as prose, and she herself was an inspiration to writers such as Jean de la Fontaine. Uniquely to her time her Love Sonnets explore unattainable love in overtly passionate style from a female point of view.
We love to create innovative projects, using our old instruments to inspire new works. If you love this idea too and would like to support us in pursuing this, you can donate via our ‘Buy me a coffee’ page.
You can also discover Louise’s poetry through our series of ‘Sonnet Sundays’. Enjoy our favourite one below!
