The lyric company Les Épopées (The Epics) takes its name from the founding poetic sagas which still inspire our impaginations today.

Led by conductor Stéphane Fuget, the ensemble weaves a rich and emotive musical journey which goes far beyond the notes on the page.

Indeed, the score is merely a skeleton, a kind of optical illusion. Its interpretation must come alive through more than the notes themselves: the melodic line of baroque singing, although adorned with profusive ornamentation, is fundamentally declamatory.

To acheive this, the voice brings out the text by enriching the musical line with a multitude of micro-intervals and tiny inflections. No longer note pitches, but declamatory intonation.

Rhetoric is thus given free reign, and the text, suddenly comprehensible, takes centre stage. More accessible, and freely conveyed by the emotion of song, it reaches right to the heart of the listener.

Lyric Company Les EpopéesStéphane Fuget