Welcome to Saint Martin's Church

Founded in 2009, Correspondances, under the direction of harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé, brings together a group of singers and instrumentalists, all specialists in the music of the Grand Siècle (the 17th century). Having become a leading ensemble in the repertoire of 17th-century French music in just a few years, Correspondances presents music with sounds that resonate deeply with today's listeners. The rediscovery of previously unreleased works and the expression of a playing style as close as possible to that of the 17th century are at the heart of the ensemble's mission. Its long-term research programs have yielded moving results, such as the monumental reconstruction of the Coronation of Louis XIV and the reconstruction of the score of the Ballet Royal de la Nuit, allowing us to rediscover a major musical moment of the 17th century that inaugurated the reign of the Sun King. The ensemble's commitment to reviving the works of established composers and rediscovering forgotten musicians has resulted in 21 recordings with the Harmonia Mundi label, acclaimed by French and international critics. These include: the Litanies of the Virgin (2013), the Christmas Pastorale (2016), Sacred Stories (2019), and Midnight Mass (2023) by the ensemble's favorite composer, Marc-Antoine Charpentier; the grand motets of Henry du Mont (2016) and Michel-Richard de Lalande (2022); Perpetual Night (2018); and Northern Light (2025) with soloist Lucile Richardot, winner of the 2025 Diapason d'Or award. or Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri (2021), Matthew Locke’s Psyche (2022), André Campra’s Requiem Mass & The Masters of Notre-Dame de Paris (2024), Northern Light (2025) with soloist Lucile Richardot, and J.S. Bach’s Christ lag in Todesbanden (2025). In 2017, Le Ballet royal de la Nuit premiered at the Théâtre de Caen, a grand and enchanting work conceived for the 21st century by choreographer Francesca Lattuada. The company continues its exploration of the experimental formats that marked the Grand Siècle with the performance Songs, directed by Samuel Achache for the voice of Lucile Richardot, and the English mask piece Cupid & Death, created in 2021 at the Théâtre de Caen, an eccentric entertainment set in an upside-down world, created by Jos Houben and Emily Wilson. Also in 2021, Correspondances performed for the first time at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with Combattimento, la théorie du cygne noir (Combating, the Theory of the Black Swan), a utopian composition about the reconstruction of the ideal city based on the works of Monteverdi and his early 17th-century Italian contemporaries, conceived by Silvia Costa. In 2023, Correspondances premiered David et Jonathan at the Théâtre de Caen in a production directed by Jean Bellorini, returning to its hybrid form where opera and theater were intimately intertwined. That same year, the ensemble honored its favorite composer, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, with the inaugural Heures Musicales de la Sainte-Chapelle (Musical Hours of the Sainte-Chapelle), which returned for a second edition in October 2024. In 2025, Correspondances returned to the Aix-en-Provence Festival with a production of Cavalli's La Calisto, directed by Jetske Mijnssen. Also in 2025, the ensemble will revive the Coronation of Louis XIV in a grand staging conceived by Rosabel Huguet in the Pierre Boulez Hall of the Philharmonie de Paris, accompanied by the children of the Philharmonie's EVE choir, the Caen Choir School, and the Scuola de Caen. Off the beaten track, Correspondances brings polyphony and opera to unexpected places. Since 2020, the ensemble has been cycling through the countryside each summer, bringing 17th-century music to the heart of Norman villages and rural areas. A musical and sporting adventure for all ages. Correspondances is the 2024 recipient of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Choral Singing, awarded by the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts.