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
La Fabrique d’Illuminations –
A Laboratory for Musical and Poetic Creation
2027-2029
Conceived as a creative workshop, Ensemble Les Illuminations takes its name from Arthur Rimbaud’s celebrated collection of poems, Illuminations. Several of these poems, first published in 1886, were set to music by Benjamin Britten in 1939 in his eponymous work for voice and string orchestra.
This seminal work serves as the point of departure for our project, La Fabrique d’Illuminations: a laboratory dedicated to establishing an extraordinary space for artistic experimentation and exploration. At its heart lies the ambition to initiate a dialogue between Rimbaud’s poetry and that of contemporary poets, bringing musical and poetic creation into conversation—and, at times, confrontation—through an ambitious, long-term artistic endeavour.
If poetry may be understood, at its most elemental, as an interplay of sounds, rhythms and images, we believe there is particular value in allowing poetic texts and musical compositions to resonate within places imbued with meaning and history. Each paired creation will thus take shape during an artistic residency lasting four to five days, with two of these residencies developed in partnership with IRCAM.
Georges Aperghis, who will serve as the project’s artistic guiding force, will compose a recurring musical motif—a unifying thread underpinning the architecture of the entire endeavour.
Drawing inspiration from the structure devised by Britten, who selected eight poems from Rimbaud’s collection and a recurring motif, we have chosen a further eight poems, framed by a second leitmotif: “Je suis le maître du silence” (“I am the master of silence”).
Eight distinctive voices from the contemporary poetic landscape will each be invited to engage with a poem by Arthur Rimbaud. No prescribed approach will be imposed upon them: there will be neither an injunction to imitate Rimbaud nor any expectation of stylistic pastiche. Rather, his poems will serve as a fertile substratum of inspiration from which each poet may forge an entirely original work.
These eight poems by Rimbaud, together with the eight newly commissioned poetic works they inspire, will enter into dialogue with eight leading composers, women and men, drawn from the forefront of contemporary musical creation.
Each composer will receive a twofold commission:
- An instrumental composition inspired by the selected, previously unset poem by Rimbaud, written for a chamber ensemble of three to five musicians, with a maximum duration of five minutes.
- A vocal and instrumental composition setting the contemporary poem written in response to Rimbaud, for the same chamber ensemble augmented by a singing voice, with a duration of five to seven minutes.
This creative space will become a laboratory of experimentation: a meeting ground for a twofold, or indeed threefold, dialogue, structured around a series of fundamental artistic questions:
- How can music speak of Rimbaud’s poetry—and how can it speak to it?
- How does each composer approach Rimbaud’s poetic universe, and through which compositional means?
- How do contemporary poetic languages and musical idioms respond to these poems, and how do they resonate with one another?
Each participating artist—whether poet or composer—will bring an individual artistic identity, shaped by a distinctive aesthetic, style, creative practice and relationship with the French language. What unites them will not be a shared artistic vocabulary, but rather the singularity of their respective worlds, the depth of their artistic vision and the authenticity of their creative pursuits.
These new works will enrich the programmes presented by Les Illuminations to concert halls and festivals, opening up new avenues of dialogue with repertoire from both past and present, and fostering fresh encounters between musical traditions, contemporary creation and poetic expression.
Vole vole vole –
I desire to speak bird
2026
Vole vole vole is a distinctive, multidisciplinary and immersive creation exploring the nature of memory and our relationship with the Earth. The performance brings together:
- Classical repertoire inspired by Schumann, notably Forest Scenes (Waldszenen) and Scenes from Childhood (Kinderszenen).
- Traditional music rooted in the oral traditions of Northern and Southern Europe.
- Poetry in French by Aurélie Allexandre d’Albronn and in Finnish by Lassi Numi.
- Original compositions by Diana Soh, entering into dialogue with Elias Galindo Lopez’s transformed bird calls and sound sculptures on stage.
The performance unfolds as an ever-shifting sonic and visual landscape, alternately finding its balance and slipping into disarray, giving rise to a playful, shared experience infused with ecological reflection.
Vole vole vole offers a poetic and sensory journey, fostering a sense of communion that transcends words and awakens a collective awareness.
Distribution
Diana SOH | Concept and Composition
Aurélie ALLEXANDRE d’ALBRONN | Poems
Ensemble Les Illuminations
Julie MATHEVET | Soprano
Elias GALINDO-LOPEZ | Bird whistle performer, set and costume design
Vincent LHERMET | Accordion
Aurélie ALLEXANDRE D’ALBRONN | Cello and Artistic director
In partnership with the Campus Versailles
Love, sea –
2026
In the deep red of his heart, rediscover his own music. Othman Louati dissects a cry, the passion of the poet from Un jour les étoiles (One Day, stars); a modern response to that of Chausson, reflecting on the protest of his friend Bouchor: “My heart flew to you, you took it without return” in Le Poème de l’amour et de la mer (The Poem of Love and the Sea).
Release of Un jour les étoiles for the 42nd Marché de la Poésie 2025
Official selection of the Sète Poetry Festival, Voix Vives.
Poème de l’amour et de la mer — ERNEST CHAUSSON (1893)
Arranged for piano quintet by Franck Villard, to poetry by Maurice Bouchor.
Un jour les étoiles — OTHMAN LOUATI (2026)
Based on the eponymous poetic text by Isabelle Junca and Aurélie Allexandre d’Albronn.
World premiere at the Saint-Céré Festival, Château de Montal, August 2026
Distribution
Aurélie ALLEXANDRE D’ALBRONN & Isabelle JUNCA | Libretto
Stéphane DEGOUT, alternating with Jean-Christophe LANIÈCE | Baritone
Flore MERLIN | Piano
Iris SCIALOM and Elise LIU | Violins
Marie DUCROUX | Viola
Aurélie ALLEXANDRE D’ALBRONN | Cello
Light and variations
A new work for string trio and synthesiser that unfolds through the luminous interplay of G major in Bach’s sublime Goldberg Variations. Interwoven with minimalist interludes by Othman Louati and poetic vignettes by Paul Claudel, French ambassador to China between 1895 and 1909, Eugène Guillevic (20th century), and Aurélie Allexandre d’Albronn (21st century), this innovative creation reimagines the musical and poetic dialogue between Europe and Asia.
True to the artistic ethos of Les Illuminations, this project transcends mere virtuosity, bringing together artistic disciplines in a distinctive format and inviting audiences to discover a new way of listening.
Distribution
Iris SCIALOM | Violin
Lou CHANG | Viola
Clément GRIFFAULT | Synthesiser
Aurélie ALLEXANDRE D’ALBRONN | Cello and artistic director
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, atlernating with Lou CHANG | Viola
Jesùs NOGUERA GUILLÉN | Harpsichord
Jonas VOZBUTAS | Accordion
Preview at the Fondation Singer Polignac festival on June 7, 2025.
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 …
October 26 to November 6, 2026
#Creative residency
Vole vole vole – I desire to speak bird
Foundation Singer Polignac
December 4, 2026
#Creation
Light and variations / string trio and synthesiser
Le Regard du Cygne / Paris
December 6, 2026
#Creation
Light and variations / string trio
MC2:Grenoble
April 18 to 24, 2027
#Composition academy
Duo Profils
Athens
PA.ST …
October 3, 2026
#Creation
Light and Variations / string trio
Paris / Culture Autrement in partnership with Les Toupies company
September 20, 2026
#Creation
Light and Variations / string trio
Saint-Prix Church
September 9, 2026
#Residency showing
Vole vole vole – I desire to speak bird
El Duende Theatre / Ivry-sur-Seine
August 30, 2026
#Creation
Light and variations / string trio
Festival du Parc Floral / Paris
August 28, 2026
#Creation
Light and variations / string trio
Louis Blanc Garden / Paris
August 1st, 2026
#Creation
Love, sea
Festival of Saint-Céré
July 11, 2026
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
Les Musicales de Redon
July 9, 2026
#Creation
Light and Variations
Nanterre
July 8, 2026
#Creation
Light and Variations
Place du Buisson Saint-Louis / Paris
June 13, 2026
#Creation
Light and variations
Lille Piano Festival
June 12, 2026
One day, stars
Campus Versailles
May 31, 2026
One day, stars
Petit Palais de Chaillot / Colonzelles
May 23, 2026
(d’)Après Bach
Nuit Européenne des Musées / Richerenches
April 18, 2026
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
Festival Musique Démesurées / Clermont-Ferrand
April 9, 2026
The Archipelago of whispers meets the CRR of Cergy-Pontoise
In partnership with the composition class of the CRR of Cergy-Pontoise
March 9 to 14, 2026
#Creation
Light and Variations
China concerts tour (Beijing, Jinan)
October 7, 2025
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
Lavoir Moderne Parisien
October 2, 2025
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
Geneva Museum of Art and History
September 19, 2025
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
Jonesy Agency / Culture Autrement
September 12, 2025
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
Square Jean Morin / Culture Autrement
September 6, 2025
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
El Duende Theatre / Ivry-sur-seine / Culture Autrement
August 22, 2025
In Variation’s, for string trio and synthesizer
Brunoy
June 8, 2025
#Creation
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
Maubuisson Abbey / Festival Un Temps pour Elles
June 7, 2025
#Preview
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
Festival of the Foundation Singer Polignac
May 20, 2025
Le Jardin d’Afrique,
lieu-dit pour un non-dit
Chamber opera by Benjamin ATTAHIR
Morocco / Festival de Musiques Sacrées de Fès
April 9, 2025
Archipelago of whispers – Vera vita viva !
CRR de Cergy Pontoise (Cergy Pontoise Regional Conservatory)
March 1st, 2025
Around Messagesquisse
Cello octet
Conservatory Raymond Roussel / Tourcoing
November 22, 2024
Le Jardin d’Afrique,
lieu-dit pour un non-dit
Chamber opera by Benjamin ATTAHIR
Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing / Théâtre Raymond Devos
October 11, 2024
An original creation for young audiences
La Scala, Paris
May 14, 2024
An original creation for young audiences
Espace Jean-Legendre / Théâtres de Compiègne
April 12, 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
March 22, 2024
An original creation for young audiences
Espace Jean-Legendre / Théâtres de Compiègne
May 23, 2023
World premiere of the version for three cellos and soprano at the Institut du Monde Arabe
AURÉLIE
ALLEXANDRE
D’ALBRONN
Artistic Director
Cello
The cellist and writer Aurélie Allexandre d’Albronn belongs to a generation of artists who no longer set styles or repertoires against one another.
A graduate of the Paris Conservatoire (CNSM), she also studied with Peter Bruns at the Hochschule für Musik in Leipzig, as well as in the Trio Wanderer’s class at the CRR in Paris. Interested in all musical aesthetics, she trained in baroque cello with Bruno Cocset (CNSMDP) and also had the opportunity to refine her skills with Philippe Hersant, Gustav Rivinius, Gary Hoffman, Philippe Muller, Valentin Erben, members of the Ysaÿe Quartet, among others.
She also enjoys working at the intersection of different forms, from the solo repertoire to chamber music, and now focuses her research on the relationships between literature, poetry, and music. For this reason, she has served for the past five years as the artistic director of the ensemble Les Illuminations, a flexible-geometry group she describes as her “creative workshop.”
She has also published Le Jardin d’Afrique, lieu-dit pour un non-dit with Éditions Al Manar, which became the libretto of a chamber opera for three singers and nine instrumentalists by Benjamin Attahir, premiered in November 2024 in partnership with the Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), and performed at the Festival of Sacred Music in Fez (Morocco) in May 2025.
In 2023, she recorded Messagesquisse by Pierre Boulez, which she brings into dialogue with newly commissioned works for solo cello and instrumental ensemble, including Nuits by O. Louati, co-produced by France Musique, and in June 2025, Vera vita viva by C. M. Sinnhuber. Awarded by G. Aperghis at the Académie des Beaux-Arts Composition Grand Prize in June 2024, she was artist-in-residence at the Sète Poetry Festival in 2025. Her second collection, co-written with Isabelle Junca, Un jour les Étoiles, released for the Marché de la Poésie at Saint-Sulpice in spring 2025 and selected for the 2026 Vénus Khoury-Ghata Prize, will give rise to a lyrical work performed by Stéphane Degout. Her first solo poetry collection, ffff, was published in December 2025 by Éditions Al Manar.
In February 2026, she is invited to perform as a duo with percussionist Adélaïde Ferrière at the Présences Radio France Festival. In March 2026, she toured China with Les Illuminations, presenting the program Jouer la Lumière (string trio version) as part of the Month of Francophonie / Printemps des Poètes.
In 2026, her ensemble’s flagship project will begin: La Fabrique d’Illuminations, a three-year initiative based on poems by Rimbaud and commissions from eight contemporary writers and composers, resulting in sixteen new creations.
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. It benefits from the patronage of the Caisse des Dépôts, its principal sponsor, and is supported by the HAPLOTÈS Fund, the Institut Français and the Lyra Fondation. The Ensemble is a partner of FEVIS.
and receives the support of
CONTACT
THE ENSEMBLE, LES ILLUMINATIONS
Le Kiosque Citoyen du 10e-MVAC
35 rue de l’Aqueduc
75010 Paris
GENERAL MANAGER
Cross Media Culture
clairemariepessey@lesilluminations.com