France, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands

Locura, a Baroque hip-hop folly, both concert and dance, in Paris

At the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and true to his exploratory ambitions, Franck-Emmanuel Comte and the musicians of his ensemble, Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu, presented Locura, in collaboration with choreographer Mourad Merzouki and Compagnie Käfig. It was an exhilarating evening, in which Baroque music and song entered into dialogue with the driving, rhythmic energy of hip-hop dance. Carried by inventive visual design and striking lighting effects, this show devoted to madness gradually won over the whole audience. Presented as part of the Châtelet’s Folies Musicales (musical follies), it is now set to tour several French cities.

With Compagnie Käfig, Mourad Merzouki, Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu and Franck-Emmanuel Comte.

Crosswinds in Basel with Into the Winds

At the Don Bosco hall in Basel, Switzerland, and following an ambitious recording project devoted to the madness of Charles VI, Adrien Reboisson and the ensemble Into the Winds, in co-production with the choreographic ensemble Les Corps Éloquents, directed by Hubert Hazebroucq, gave the first performance of their new show, Crosswinds. This creation immerses audiences in the worldview of the early Renaissance, bringing together period choreography, compositions inspired by early styles, recompositions and moments of contemporary improvisation.

With Les Corps Éloquents, Hubert Hazebroucq, Into the Winds and Adrien Reboisson.

Janine Jansen and Camerata Salzburg in Barcelona

The Dutch violinist Janine Jansen and Camerata Salzburg, conducted by Gregory Ahss, thrilled the Catalan audience at Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana with Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. The programme also included Richard Dubugnon’s Piccolo concerto grosso, Op. 87, Nino Rota’s Concerto per l’archi and Francesco Geminiani’s Concerto grosso No. 12 in D minor, “La Folia”.

With Janine Jansen, Camerata Salzburg and Gregory Ahss.

Concentus Musicus Wien at the International Nikolaus Harnoncourt Days

Concentus Musicus Wien opened the fifth edition of the International Nikolaus Harnoncourt Days in the parish church of Sankt Georgen im Attergau, Upper Austria, with Georg Friedrich Handel’s Alexander’s Feast, HWV 75. The 2026 edition marked the tenth anniversary of the conductor’s death in 2016 in this Austrian town. A second evening was devoted to a “Baroque Tour” with mezzo-soprano Camilla Lehmeier.

With Concentus Musicus Wien, Camilla Lehmeier and Stefan Gottfried.

PRJCT Amsterdam in Hamburg with Handel’s Brockes Passion

The ensemble PRJCT Amsterdam, conducted by Maarten Engeltjes, brought to a close at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, after Amsterdam, Brussels and Rotterdam, a tour devoted to Handel’s Brockes Passion, HWV 48. This Passion, set to a text by the Hamburg poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes, was composed in 1716 and first performed in Hamburg in 1719.

With Vlaams Radiokoor, PRJCT Amsterdam and Maarten Engeltjes.

La Capriola in the Vendée for a residency and concert

The ensemble La Capriola, of which the many-sided musician Manon Papasergio is a member, brought a week-long residency in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, in the Vendée, to a close with a concert in the church of Saint-Laurent du Fenouiller. The residency was devoted to the creation of its new instrumental programme, centred on the two main centres of Italian violin-making in the sixteenth century: Brescia and Cremona. Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie has a special significance for the ensemble: its violins, copies of instruments made by the Amati family, active in Cremona in the sixteenth century, were made by the luthier Jean-Paul Boury, who is based in the town. “Playing Lombard Renaissance music on our violins, here where they first came into being, creates a unique link between places and eras: our instruments, made today on the Vendée coast, carry within them the memory of Renaissance Italy,” says the ensemble.

With La Capriola.