Sept 2024

Through the songs or ‘chansons’, we are given the chance to be transported back to a point when the word, note, instrument and performer collided to document impressions of a world lived long ago and yet with which we share so much. As songs that had a vibrant life beyond the words, we are afforded an entrance into the evergreen world of instrumental music of the Renaissance, into music that filled the taverns and dwellings of Paris and beyond. This is why these works maintain such relevance for us today. For Chansons musicales is not simply an exercise in museum-driven reconstruction, notwithstanding the world-class research that underpins the project. These are living and breathing works.

Through the songs or ‘chansons’, we are given the chance to be transported back to a point when the word, note, instrument and performer collided to document impressions of a world lived long ago and yet with which we share so much. As songs that had a vibrant life beyond the words, we are afforded an entrance into the evergreen world of instrumental music of the Renaissance, into music that filled the taverns and dwellings of Paris and beyond. This is why these works maintain such relevance for us today. For Chansons musicales is not simply an exercise in museum-driven reconstruction, notwithstanding the world-class research that underpins the project. These are living and breathing works.

With their new album "Chansons sans paroles", the young brass ensemble "Salaputia Brass" takes us through the history of French chanson. From the Renaissance madrigal to the present day, almost every era is represented. New arrangements specially tailored for the ensemble allow these works to be heard in a completely new tonal brilliance. Due to the expressiveness of the brass instruments and their tonal proximity to the human voice, the music speaks volumes, even without the words.