Le Poème Harmonique, a group of soloists directed by Vincent Dumestre, was formed in 1998, centring its artistic activity on music of the seventeenth and the early eighteenth century.

The group's vocal and instrumental interpretations are now enriched by other disciplines, with actors and dancers joining its singers and musicians in programmes of chamber works – Le Ballet des Fées, Il Fasolo – and, since 2004, in large-scale stage productions, such as Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, a comédie-ballet by Molière and Lully with stage direction by Benjamin Lazar, and Le Carnaval Baroque, an original show directed by Cécile Roussat, combining Italian music with the circus arts (artists trained at the Centre National des Arts du Cirque). Operas presented include La Vie Humaine by Marazzoli, which is ideal for performance in churches and other religious settings, and in the near future Cadmus et Hermione by Lully, a revival of the splendours of the tragédie lyrique; in both cases Benjamin Lazar is the stage director. For opera Le Poème Harmonique studies in great depth the correspondences between ‘period’ aesthetics – use of candles for lighting, authentic gestures and, for Cadmus, painted canvases and machinery – and the aesthetics of modern stage performances.

The ensemble also goes back to the sources of early French and Italian music by exploring its relationships with traditional or folk music. The recording Aux Marches du Palais, for example, is devoted to French songs of oral tradition.

Since its formation Le Poème Harmonique has toured extensively, both within Europe and further afield. The 2006-2007 season has seen 17 performances of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (Brussels, Paris, Évreux, Prague, Belgrade, Budapest, Rouen, Caen), 35 of Le Carnaval Baroque, premièred in January 2006(Lyon, San Francisco, Louviers, Rouen, Paris, Caen, Belgrade, Nantes), and 8 of La Vie Humaine, first performed in September 2006 (including Utrecht, Ambronay, Paris and Sablé). Other highlights of the same period include a residency in Brussels (Bozar) and débuts at the Accademia Santa Cecilia, Rome, the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, and the Boston Early Music and Granada International festivals.
Important projects for the future include the first performance of Lully’s Cadmus et Hermione (January 2008, Opéra-Comique, Paris), followed by residencies at Rouen Opéra and, the following season, at the Théâtre de Caen; carte blanche to Vincent Dumestre at the Normandy Festival (Automne en Normandie) in 2008; concert début in New York; the ensemble’s first Japanese tour; invitations to Rome, Krakow and San Francisco.

The ensemble's recordings for the Alpha label have met with rare public success (over 150,000 CDs and DVDs sold since 1998) and great critical acclaim, with numerous distinctions: Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros, Diapason d’Or (including Best DVD 2006 for Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme), recommendations from Opéra International, Classica, Le Monde de la Musique, etc. The group has also received the Prelude Classical Award, the Antonio Vivaldi International Award (Cini Foundation, Venice) and the Caecilia Press Prize for its recordings.

Le Poème Harmonique is subsidised by the French Ministry of Culture (DRAC Haute-Normandie), the Haute-Normandie Region and the Eure département. It works in collaboration with the Research Group of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, and the Fondation Royaumont, and is a member of FEVIS (Fédération des Ensembles Vocaux et Instrumentaux Spécialisés).

October 2007