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
A project co-produced by the Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing
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
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
An original creation for young audiences
La Scala, Paris
14 May 2024
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
An original creation for young audiences
Espace Jean-Legendre / Théâtres de Compiègne
23 May 2023
World premiere of the version for three cellos and soprano at the Institut du Monde Arabe
AURÉLIE
ALLEXANDRE
D’ALBRONN
Artistic Director
Cello
A graduate of the Paris Conservatoire (CNSM), she has also studied with Peter Bruns at the Leipzig Hochschule für Musik, as well as in the Trio Wanderer class at the Paris Regional Conservatory (CRR). Interested in all musical aesthetics, she pursued baroque cello studies with Bruno Cocset at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) and had the opportunity to perfect her skills with Philippe Hersant, Gustav Rivinius, Gary Hoffman, Philippe Muller, Valentin Erben, and members of the Ysaÿe Quartet, among others.
She thrives on the cross-fertilization of different forms, from solo repertoire to chamber music, and currently focuses her research on the relationships between literature, poetry, and music. This is why she has been the artistic director of the variable-geometry ensemble Les Illuminations, her "creative workshop," for two years. She has also published "Le Jardin d'Afrique, lieu-dit pour un non- dit" with Editions Al Manar, which became the libretto for Benjamin Attahir's chamber opera for three singers and nine instrumentalists, premiered in November 2024.
In 2023, she recorded Pierre Boulez's Messagesquisse, which she juxtaposes with commissions for solo cello and instrumental ensemble, including Othman Louati's Nuits in 2022 and a new piece from Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber in June 2025. Recognized by Georges Aperghis at the Grand Prix de composition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in June 2024, she is preparing a new creation, "Un Jour les étoiles," her second collection to be published in spring 2025, and will be an artist-in-residence at the Sète poetry festival. In 2026, she will notably be heard at Radio France's Présences festival in a duo with Adélaïde Ferrière.
MA.NI.FE.STO
The role of the Arts in a collective context :
bringing music and literature to life
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.
The Ensemble Les Illuminations is in residence at the Singer Polignac Foundation, supported by the Fondation Lyra and the HAPLOTÈS Foundation , sponsored by Caisse des Dépôts.
and receives the support of
CONTACT
THE ENSEMBLE, LES ILLUMINATIONS
MVAC 206 Quai de Valmy
75010 Paris
ADMINISTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION
Cross Media Culture
lesilluminations@cmculture.com