Here the Ensemble Aedes presents three major French composers of the Belle Époque. Contemporary audiences were struck by the peaceful serenity of Fauré’s requiem, and it is this version, on historic instruments, which the Ensemble Aedes has chosen. It is juxtaposed with key works by Francis Poulenc, including Figure Humaine, composed in secret during the German Occupation, premièred in 1945, and culminating in a setting of Paul Éluard’s overwhelmingly moving hymn to Liberty.

Francis Poulenc, Litanies à la Vierge Noire pour chœur de femmes et orgue
Francis Poulenc, Quatre prières de Saint François d’Assise pour chœur d’hommes a cappella
Claude Debussy, Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans pour chœur a capella
Francis Poulenc, Messe en sol pour chœur mixte a cappella
Gabriel Fauré, Requiem (version originale de 1893)

Ensemble Aedes
Les Siècles
Mathieu Romano : conductor