Half Baroque, half contemporary, half French, half British: Le Concert de l'Hostel de Dieu brings its 50/50 programme to the UK

In December last year, I interviewed Franck-Emmanuel Comte of the Lyons-based ensemble Le Concert de l'Hostel de Dieu [see my interview], and we chatted about their 50/50 project, a programme that mixed Baroque and contemporary music. In May 2023, the ensemble is coming to the UK and bringing the project to three concerts in London, Oxford and Ludlow.

The concert presents something of a challenge - half Baroque, half contemporary, half French, half British. A bridge between two countries and two eras, the concert features music by two contemporary composers, David Chalmin and Martyn Harry, and music by Purcell and Lully. The French composer, David Chalmin has written music inspired by Purcell, whilst the British composer, Martyn Harry has written music inspired by Lully. Both combine the sounds of the Baroque instrumentation with their own language, opening up a dialogue between times, languages and borders.

Le Concert de l'Hostel de Dieu and Franck-Emmanuel Comte, with mezzo-soprano Axelle Verner, will be presenting 50/50 at the London Festival of Baroque Music at St John's Smith Square (15/5/2023), Ludlow Assembly Rooms (17/5/2023) and Holywell Music Room, Oxford (19 May 2023)