the ensemble
“Musick for a while, Shall all your Cares beguile”
We created the Oghma Baroque Ensemble for our production of Racine’s Phèdre & Hippolyte, in 2008. Its composition evolves according to the specific instrumental needs of the works performed, yet has at least two permanent members: Marie-Suzanne de Loye and Mélusine de Pas, our viol-players.
The Baroque period saw no distinction between theatre and music – theatrical performances are punctuated by music, and is Molière and Lully’s work together not the greatest example of this near-symbiosis? – it is only but today that the two arts are thus separated. Our aim is to try and make them partners once again, by reflecting upon the bonds that united them then, striving to reach an intimate collaboration between musicians and actors, by never separating their work.
We thenceforth take an interest in the gorgeous scene music of the time, which is greatly abundant, but we also try to lime-enlighten pieces intended for the more intimate chamber-music, creating a dialogue with texts.