Le Poème Harmonique

Since 1998, Le Poème Harmonique has brought together—around its founder, Vincent Dumestre—passionate musicians devoted to the interpretation of 17th- and 18th-century music. The ensemble’s inventive and demanding programs are a testament to its enlightened approach to Baroque repertoires and to its in-depth work on vocal and instrumental textures.

Familiar with the world’s greatest festivals and venues—Opéra Comique, Opéra Royal de Versailles, Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Ambronay Festival, Beaune and Sablé, Wigmore Hall (London), National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing), Wiener Konzerthaus (Austria), Concertgebouw (Bruges), BOZAR (Brussels), Oji Hall (Tokyo), Columbia University (New York), Teatro San Carlo (Naples), Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, and BBC Proms—Le Poème Harmonique is also very engaged in Normandy, the cradle of its numerous creations and where it is in residence.

Le Poème Harmonique’s discography now includes some 50 recordings that have been regularly acclaimed by critics and have had great success with the public.

This evening’s program, “Music for a Young King,” includes music that would have been heard in the court of young Louis XIV before Versailles. The ensemble is performing traditional French chansons, music by Moulinié, de Lalande, and Charpentier, and excerpts from the first operas performed in France by Lully and Cavalli.

Vincent Dumestre

His taste for the arts, creative feeling for Baroque aesthetics, explorer’s flair, and love of collective projects naturally led Vincent Dumestre to delve into the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries and, in 1998, create the tailor-made ensemble Le Poème Harmonique. A faithful companion to his orchestra, Dumestre is today one of the most inventive and versatile artisans of the Baroque revival as a conductor and director, while continuing to pursue his first love—playing plucked string instruments.

He graduated from the École du Louvre (art history) and the École Normale de Musique de Paris (classical guitar) and studied lute, Baroque guitar, and theorbo with Hopkinson Smith, Eugène Ferré, and Rolf Lislevand, playing with the Ricercar Consort, La Grande Écurie et La Chambre du Roy, Hespèrion XX, and La Simphonie du Marais, among others.

Dumestre is also quite active in Normandy, where Le Poème Harmonique is in residence. His recordings have received the highest prestigious awards from the press, such as the Diapason d’Or and Choc de l’année 2022 from Classica for Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (Château de Versailles Spectacles) and the Diamant from Opera magazine for Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus (Alpha Classics).

Dumestre is an Officer of the National Order of Arts and Letters and a Knight of the National Order of Merit.

More info about Vincent Dumestre and Le Poème Harmonique can be found on the group’s website.

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Le Poème Harmonique is subsidized by the French Ministry of Culture (DRAC of Normandy), the Normandy Region, the Department of Seine-Maritime, the City of Rouen, and the Centre National de la Musique and is a partner in the Démos—Philharmonie de Paris project.

Le Poème Harmonique is in residence at the Singer-Polignac Foundation (Paris) as associate artist. For its projects in the Normandy region, Le Poème Harmonique receives support from the PGS Group.

Tickets
$33–$45, CMA members $30–$40