Presentation

2009, 2010, 2011

Since its first concert in 2009, Correspondances has devoted itself to reviving composers whose fame has already been established, as well as to reviving the image of musicians who are little known today but who were played and acclaimed in their time. The ensemble’s first CD, O Maria! devoted to Charpentier and released by ZigZag Territoires, was hailed by the critics: it received a Choc de Classica and a Diapason Découverte. The ensemble’s second opus, L’Archange & Le Lys, the first sacred anthology dedicated to the composer Antoine Boësset, was also rewarded: Découverte by Diapason Mag and **** by Classica.

The ensemble leads ambitious first projects in Europe but also in South America and Japan where it participates in making Charpentier’s music known.

2012, 2013, 2014

Correspondances performs in Colombia and is also in residence at the Festival Musique & Mémoire. The ensemble inaugurates a frequent collaboration with the Centre de Rencontre d’Ambronay and with the Fondation Royaumont, with whom it conducts a research project on Charpentier’s Histoires sacrées.
A new horizon is opening with the collaboration with the historical label Harmonia Mundi. The company offers the ensemble to revive Charpentier: the Litanies de la Vierge make the ensemble widely known in France and abroad (ffff de Télérama, Diapason d’or, Choc de l’année 2014 for Classica …)

2014, 2015, 2016

The fourth recording in 2014 rediscovers the work of Etienne Moulinié: the Meslanges pour la Chapelle d’un Prince on Harmonia Mundi received a Diapason Découverte, Choc de Classica and the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros. The ensemble performs in historical festivals : Ambronay, La Chaise-Dieu, the MA Festival of Bruges, Royaumont, Vézelay…

In 2015, Harmonia Mundi released two new albums by the ensemble: Michel-Richard De Lalande’s Leçons de Ténèbres with Sophie Karthäuser (Choc de Classica, ffff Télérama, Diapason d’Or de l’année 2015) and Le Concert Royal de la Nuit which was released in the fall, the result of three years of research to rediscover this major musical moment that inaugurated the reign of the Sun King. This rediscovery has received an unequivocal welcome: Choc Classica of the year 2015, ffff from Télérama, and is widely known abroad, in England where it is greeted by a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, **** from the Guardian, in Australia where the disc receives the Opera Recording of the Year 2016 Limelight Magazine label, and in Germany where it is awarded an Echo Preis for ‘World Premiere Recording of the Year 2016’.

Correspondances becomes an ensemble associated with the Ambronay Festival. It continues its collaboration with the historical festivals of Saintes, Bruges, Utrecht and returns to the Royal Opera of Versailles. It also made a breakthrough on the international scene, at the Wigmore Hall in London, and at the opening of the Musikfest in Bremen.

Correspondances is in residence at the theater of Caen. It is associated with the Opera and the Chapel of the Château de Versailles, the Louvre Museum and the Théâtre de l’Aquarium at the Cartoucherie.

2016, 2017, 2018

In 2016, Correspondances received the label of National Company from the Ministry of Culture and began a three-year residency at the Theatre of Caen as well as a regular collaboration with the MC2 Grenoble.

The ensemble’s seventh album, O Mysterium (Choc Classica, ffff Télérama), is devoted to the most beautiful French motets written by Henry Du Mont for the Chapel of Louis XIV. The recording of the Pastorale de Noël (Choc Classica, ffff Télérama, Album of the Week by the Times, ***** Diapason) honors Charpentier’s repertoire – also at the heart of Histoires Sacrées, the ensemble’s very first stage production, directed by Vincent Huguet.

In 2017, the ensemble made its debut in Asia for the opening of the French May Festival in Hong Kong and performed in the United States at the Boston Early Music Festival. The ensemble’s second stage production, Le Ballet royal de la Nuit directed by Francesca Lattuada, saw the light of day in November 2017 at the Théâtre de Caen and signed a new page for the ensemble in opera houses in France and internationally.

2018, 2019, 2020

Perpetual Night, mezzo Lucile Richardot’s first solo disc with Correspondances is released in spring 2018 for Harmonia Mundi. A top-selling classical album in France, awarded a Diapason d’Or de l’année 2018, a Choc de Classica, the German Critics’ Prize and the Belgian Critics’ Prize, this disc reveals Lucile Richardot’s unclassifiable voice in a little-known repertoire that prefigures the birth of English opera. The ensemble takes the contemporary challenge of creating a musical theater performance off the beaten path with the help of director Samuel Achache. The show Songs is created in the network of national stages and national drama centers where it brings some pearls of baroque music to the heart of a theater audience.

2018 marks a turning point for the ensemble’s English establishment with the artistic direction of the London Festival of Baroque Music and a residency at the Wigmore Hall, as well as in China and North America where the ensemble confirms its presence in the most iconic music venues.

In 2020, the Ballet royal de la nuit is presented by the theater of Caen for an exceptional tour of fifteen dates in France and Europe, and Correspondances publishes two records with harmonia mundi: Les Plaisirs du Louvre, Airs pour la Chambre de Louis XIII and the Messe à quatre choeurs, Carnets de Voyage d’Italie.

Correspondances is in residence at the theater of Caen. It is associated with the Louvre Museum.

It receives the support of the creation residency of la vie brève – Théâtre de l’Aquarium.  

Correspondances is supported by the Ministry of Culture – DRAC Normandie, the Normandy Region, the City and the Theater of Caen. 

The ensemble is supported by the Correspondances Foundation, which brings together music lovers active in the support of research, publishing and interpretation of 17th century music. 

 It regularly receives support from the Calvados department, the French Institute, ODIA Normandie and the National Music Center for its concert, export and recording activities. 

The Ensemble Correspondances is a member of Arviva – Arts vivants, Arts durables, and is committed to the environmental transition of performing arts. 

The ensemble is a member of FEVIS, Profedim and the European Early Music Network.