Explore, reveal, transform

Three action verbs introduce this « Creative Workshop » the Ensemble Les Illuminations, born in 2022 from the vision of cellist and author Aurélie Allexandre d'Albronn to harmonize contemporary music and literature, matter and word. Its name echoes the poetic brilliance of Rimbaud and the musical energy of Britten.

This workshop also fosters a continuous dialogue between eras, disciplines, artists, and works. Interwoven correspondences give rise to new forms, conceived as a total object.

ORI.GI.NAL CR.ÉA.TI.ONS

Archipelago of whispers
Vera vita viva !

Les Illuminations continues its Prisme-s project, with Pierre Boulez’s Messagesquisse as its cornerstone. Following Othman Louati’s Nuits, the ensemble thus enriches its collection of commissions to contemporary composers centred around the concertante cello, and invites Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, whose ensemble of five instruments evokes a protean strangeness through timbres that summon diverse imaginaries. Beyond the bowed polyphony, the accordion, straddling the sacred and the profane, the Occident and the Far East, resonates with a harpsichord anchored in the Baroque era.

Surrounding this premiere, the Archipelago of Whispers the Archipelago of Whispers interweaves musical epochs and aesthetics, summoning female composers who have all pushed the boundaries of their times. 

An uninterrupted thread is woven between the Baroque freedom of composition of Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, the sonic poetry of Kaija Saariaho, the romantic fervour of Ethel Smyth, and the art of silence of Sofia Goubaidoulina.

From the 17th to the 21st century, diverse languages flourish, sketching a sonic landscape where each work becomes both memory and reinvention. From solo to trio, from quartet to ensemble, the music is constructed through dialogue and correspondences.

Distribution

Aurélie ALLEXANDRE D’ALBRONN | Cello

Iris SCIALOM |  Violin

Louise DESJARDINS | Viola

Jesùs NOGUERA GUILLÉN |  Harpsichord

Jonas VOZBUTAS |  Accordion

Le Jardin d’Afrique, lieu-dit pour un non-dit
by Benjamin Attahir –

Chamber opera for three singers and nine instrumentalists.
Autumn 2024

Le Carnaval de Toumaï

Do we know who we are before we cross paths with the Other?

After a chance meeting with a cello, a violin and an accordion, Toumaï, who’s never been able to see beyond the boundaries of his world, is about to find out.  

  • Isabelle JUNCA, author
  • Pascal ZAVARO, original composition
  • Coralie SALONNE, stage adaptation, direction and interventions

Autour de Messagesquisse

The ensemble Les Illuminations brings together 8 cellos in this exciting and challenging programme, from Bach to Boulez including Pärt, Debussy, Barber and Villa-Lobos.  
– Summer 2022, Saint-Céré Festival 

Aurélie ALLEXANDRE D’ALBRONN, solo cello

Renaud GUIEU, Justine METRAL, Hanna SALZENSTEIN, Anthony KONDO, Adrien BELLOM, Raphäel GINZBURG, Irène JOLYS, cellos

Avec Othman LOUATI, conductor (Boulez)
Et Iryna KYSHLIARUK, soprano (Villa-Lobos)

SEE ALSO :

Live : Liberté de Francis Poulenc

Live : Bachianas Brasilieras n°5 
d’Heitor Villa-Lobos

Podcast : Génération France Musique
émission du 07.01.2023

Prism

The aim of our project is to commission a collection of pieces for cello concertante and ensemble, by a variety of European composers, in this mise-en-abime of Boulez’s sound-world.

Messagesquisse by Pierre BOULEZ, recorded and filmed in March 2023 :

Nuits
an original work by Othman Louati

Co-produced with France Musique and broadcast during the programme Création Mondiale.

CO.MI.NG
UP

20 May 2025

Le Jardin d’Afrique,
lieu-dit pour un non-dit

Chamber opera by Benjamin ATTAHIR

Morocco / Festival de Musiques Sacrées de Fès

7 June 2025

#Preview  
Archipelago of Whispers Vera Vita viva !

Festival of the Foundation Singer Polignac

8 June 2025

#Création
Archipelago of Whispers Vera Vita viva !

Maubuisson Abbey / Festival Un Temps Pour Elles

PA.ST

1st March 2025

Around Messagesquisse

Cello octet

Conservatory Raymond Roussel / Tourcoing

22 November 2024

Le Jardin d’Afrique,
lieu-dit pour un non-dit

Chamber opera by Benjamin ATTAHIR
Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing / Théâtre Raymond Devos

11 October 2024

Le Carnaval de Toumaï

An original creation for young audiences
La Scala, Paris

14 May 2024

Le Carnaval de Toumaï

An original creation for young audiences
Espace Jean-Legendre / Théâtres de Compiègne

12 April 2024

Le Jardin d’Afrique,
lieu-dit pour un non-dit

Chamber opera by Benjamin ATTAHIR

End-of-residency presentation / Cité de la Voix, Vézelay

> INFORMATION

22 March 2024

Le Carnaval de Toumaï

An original creation for young audiences
Espace Jean-Legendre / Théâtres de Compiègne

23 May 2023

Le Jardin d’Afrique

World premiere of the version for three cellos and soprano at the Institut du Monde Arabe

AURÉLIE 
ALLEXANDRE
D’ALBRONN

Artistic Director
Cello

MA.NI.FE.STO

LesIlluminations provides a space that nurtures the aspirations of its musicians, ambassadors of heritage repertoires with a strong creative approach to music, literature and poetry.

LesIlluminations is committed to a quest for meaning, based on close communion with the audience, a shared experience that takes them down paths with a reputation for being impenetrable. Which means being warmly thanked for having played Boulez.

LesIlluminations, therefore, represents a world with close ties to the creation of contemporary music, the ambition being to commission a series of works, a collection of concertante pieces for solo cello and ensemble.

LesIlluminations, is, last but not least, an ensemble turned towards other people. Carefully tailored workshops are a central part of our mission, driven by the desire to transmit our passion.

Our workshops make use of third-party venues where we organise activities for all ages, in long-term partnerships with institutions and « artist-teachers ». Because we believe that sharing a piece of music means giving others the chance to listen to it and interpret it, to access its true meaning and to explore it together, using real tools acquired over time.

Our workshops create opportunities for exchange, developed by educational specialists and in unique formats, while taking steps to reach out to the public. Because we believe that sharing a work of art means revealing to the public its own creativity and, in doing so, inviting the artist to re- examine his or her own work.

and receives the support of

CONTACT

enslesilluminations@gmail.com