Dolce Follia

The French band Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu made the basis of their signature concert program the so-called foil. Originally, the name was used to refer to Portuguese dance — so vivid and expressive that its performers seemed possessed by madness. Over time, this name began to refer to variational works based on a fixed bass scheme, commonly used in a wide variety of musical genres. In the Baroque era, these forms gained immense popularity in Italy — the repertoire from this country will be focused on the artists hosting the NFM.

The group will be led by Franck-Emmanuel Comte — harpsichordist and conductor who founded Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu in 1992. The name of the formation refers to the historic hospital located in the historic center of Lyon. It was in the beautiful interiors and courtyards of this centuries-old building that musicians performed during their first two seasons. Over time, however, its walls turned out to be too tight for the growing team. Today, these artists cooperate with many local institutions, regularly perform abroad and have more than twenty records in their output. The axis of their artistic assumptions is to show the diversity of Baroque works. Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu is passionate about the compositions preserved in the archives of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with particular emphasis on the historical cultural ties linking the area with Italy.

The program of this evening is the continuation of a ballet entitled Folia and prepared by French musicians in collaboration with the choreographer Mourad Merzouki, who is involved in the contemporary dance and hip-hop scene. The repertoire includes folie, chaconny and passacaglie. It blurs the boundaries between Baroque masterpieces by Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell or Tarquinia Meruli, among others, and folk traditions. In both of these trends, Lyon artists find executive virtuosity, spontaneity, space for improvisation and the spirit of freedom.