Campra’s Requiem is a work that deeply fascinates me: it is a Mass for the dead that sets aside any sense of tragedy, unfolding instead with a profoundly moving serenity. For Campra, death is not an end to be feared, but rather a hope: the possibility of attaining eternal life. It is a work that enjoyed immense success from its very first performances and quickly spread throughout France.
Les Talens Lyriques, named after the subtitle of Rameau’s 1739 opera Les Fêtes d’Hébé, was founded in 1991 by harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset.
Spanning a wide vocal and instrumental repertoire from the early Baroque to the dawn of Romanticism, the ensemble seeks to shed new light on music history’s great masterpieces—viewed through the prism of rare or previously unperformed works that often serve as the missing links in Europe’s musical heritage. Musicological research and editorial work are central to the ensemble’s mission, playing a vital role in its artistic identity and international reputation.
By becoming a patron of Les Talens, you’ll be supporting an initiative focused on excellence, innovation and sharing!
The cultural outreach of The Talens Lyriques is built around artistic and educational residencies in schools, as well as visits by the ensemble’s musicians to the palliative care units of Strasbourg’s Clinique de la Toussaint.
Founder of Les Talens Lyriques and an internationally acclaimed harpsichordist, Christophe Rousset is a musician and conductor driven by his passion for opera and the rediscovery of Europe’s musical heritage.
