The music of "Universal Harmony"

A film by Rémy Campos on the research project led by William Dongois, 2015.

In the context of 'performance practices studies', the MERSENNE project set out to use the three volumes of the 'Harmonie universelle' as a source for renewing knowledge and expertise on the performance of music in the first half of the seventeenth century by critically reading the 'Harmonie universelle' using original methods and combining the views of practising musicians, musicologists and organologists. Twelve preparatory seminars were held between January and April 2013 at the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, enabling the various participants to (re)discover the richness and complexity of the work.

The second phase consisted of bringing together a group of musicians (professionals specialising in the performance of 17th century music and a group of students from the HEM) to perform compositions, the majority of which were taken from the "Harmonie Universelle". One hour of music was recorded at the Saint Ulrich convent in Sarrebourg (www.rencontres-saint-ulrich.com) over five days. The scores made from the "Harmonie Universelle" facsimile and the recordings can be found on the following pages. The results obtained were presented during the third phase of the project: an international colloquium was organised in collaboration with the CMBV in December 2014. As part of the colloquium, a concert, filmed by a Japanese television channel, was given at the Chapelle Royale with the ensemble of Chantres de la maîtrise of the CMBV, conducted by Olivier Schnebeli, and an instrumental ensemble comprising professors and students from the HEM linked to the project.