JUDITH ou la mort d’Holopherne. E. Jacquet de La Guerre, J.B. Forqueray, F. Couperin

The aesthetics and refined spirit of the French Grand Siècle come to life in the encounter between instrumental form and dramatic narrative. The program opens with La Françoise, the first suite from François Couperin's collection Les Nations, where the taste for dances from beyond the Alps is combined with the cantability and the model of Arcangelo Corelli's trio sonata. This is followed by a selection from Jean-Baptiste Forqueray's Première Suite for harpsichord, a gallery of portraits and dances with a strong expressive character. The heart of the concert is entrusted to the sacred cantata Judithe by Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, a prominent figure at the court of Louis XIV and one of the very few female composers of her time. Through a measured and elegant language, the author describes the story of the biblical heroine who saves her people from the tyrant Holofernes. The performance is entrusted to the young performers of the Ensemble Simonetta.