Programs
Discover the various programs by Les Itinérantes.
THE GARDENS OF LIGHT
SACRED PROGRAM
THE GARDENS OF LIGHT draws inspiration from the figure of Mani, a 3rd-century Mesopotamian prophet whose spiritual impulse sought to bring traditions together and reveal what they share: light, inner peace, the quest for meaning.
In this spirit, the program brings together songs from diverse spiritual and cultural traditions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, animism, Norse and Egyptian mythologies – that resonate with each other like facets of the same human search: to understand oneself, to find meaning, to connect, to respect one another.
To these traditional songs are added original compositions on ancient texts, carried by voices such as Rumi, Lao Tzu or Lal Ded.
THE GARDENS OF LIGHT opens a space in which each individual is free to experience their own inner
journey, their own experience of the sacred.
With the support of the Abbey of Sylvanès, Cultural Center for Encounters.
Program : sacred songs from various traditions, origins and eras
Venues and acoustics: Indoor and unamplified, heritage venues only with rather long-reverberant
acoustics
Special feature: This program is performed with a specific scenography, notably involving a circular
arrangement of the audience when possible
HYSTERÆ
THE FACETS OF THE FEMININE – STAGED PERFORMANCE
Mothers, queens, widows, witches, workers, wives, fairies and sorceresses… Powerful, defenseless, adored or feared, made invisible or idealized, fantasized and demonized, vengeful and merciful, victims, idols. The representations of the feminine in the world throughout the ages are numerous and fascinating in their paradoxes. Whether in a mythological or fantastical character (enchanting creatures with infinite powers, goddesses, saints…) or in the different roles she takes on within human society, the feminine figure has always had multiple faces, of unlimited complexity and richness.
Carried by melodies from around the world with surprising narratives, original compositions, forgotten
works by women composers, this program questions our way of perceiving femininity today.
Program: portraits of women through traditional songs, French songs, medieval chants, compositions…
Venues and acoustics: Indoor and theater or performance hall. Another possible venue without the scenography, with acoustics not exceeding 2 seconds of reverberation.
Special feature: staged version with the show’s sound and lighting technicians.
ORIGINS
AT THE ORIGINS OF MUSIC – FOUR ELEMENTS
“We trace back to the origins of humanity, becoming one with its first instrument: the voice.”
Hebdo LA VIE
Music accompanies humanity. Since prehistory, human beings have been creating music and singing. And like all artists, composers have always drawn inspiration from what they heard or experienced in order to create and share. This program, in a journey through the 4 elements, tells the story of what drove humans to sing: the need to connect to something else, to accompany a ritual, work, to dance, to give oneself strength, to pray, to honor, to transmit or to tell stories…
Program: traditional world songs, compositions, medieval music…
Venues and acoustics: Indoors, amplified if the percussionist is present, compatible with performance halls
Special Features: Program with percussionist.
TERRA MATER
PROGRAM ON THE FEMININE IN THE SACRED
Figure of protection, bearer of hope, mother and tutelary presence: in sacred traditions, the feminine occupies a central place in the relationship to earth, birth and transmission, notably through the figure of Mary, often associated with light and the living world.
Through traditional songs and original compositions, Les Itinérantes give voice to these figures of the Mother, creating a dialogue between eras and traditions, from the medieval visionary Hildegard von Bingen to contemporary composers such as Farnaz Modarresifar or Mariana Marrache, a 19th-century Syrian poet.
Program : songs to the Virgin, Christian songs, Orthodox songs, hymns to Mary Magdalene…
Venues and accoustics : Indoor and unamplified, heritage venues only with rather long-reverberant acoustics
This program also exists in a version with the singers from the IRVEM maîtrise.
MUNDUS IMAGINALIS
FANTASTIC MEDIEVAL PROGRAM
“Three sorceresses as if escaped from a not-so-distant Brocéliande…”
(Natalie Dessay & Laurent Naouri, opera singers)
Would it please you to hear a beautiful tale of love and death?
Lend an ear and close your eyes if your heart so desires. Voices will guide you through myths and legends, to istant lands. Lands where men fight dragons, fall in love with fairies, where forests are populated by mysterious creatures, where love potions unite hearts, and where magic can still seal destinies.
Medieval songs, traditional songs, original compositions and arrangements, in languages sometimes vanished or invented, Les Itinérantes take you into the medieval fantasy imaginary, for a mystical journey outside of time.
Program: rearranged medieval songs, traditional world songs, compositions
Venues and acoustics: Indoor and unamplified (amplification possible), preferably in heritage venues with rather long-reverberant acoustics
Special feature: Paper set elements, in the manner of shadow theatre (darkness required)
BETWEEN WORLDS
FOLKLORE – NATURE – JOURNEY BETWEEN WORLDS
The realm of fairy-story is wide and deep and high and filled with many things:
all manner of beasts and birds are found there; shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is an enchantment, and an ever-present peril.”
J.R.R Tolkien
Between reality and imagination, BETWEEN WORLDS is a crossing between two worlds, a vocal odyssey between folk traditions from five continents and songs from an invented universe.
This imaginary land takes the form of a planet with nine moons, divided between eternal light and endless night. In this other world, new peoples are born along with their songs, performed in invented languages, telling us of their traditions and their wild nature, populated by vibrant birds and mysterious creatures.
These dreamlike folklores dialogue and resonate with songs from our own world: from the forests of Latvia to the hores of Cameroon, from Mongolian songs to New Zealand ballads, from the Bulgarian mountains to the plains of merica. Like migrating birds, the voices carry us from one land to another, at the borders of reality.
Programme : folk and traditional songs from 5 continents, original compositions around an invented world
Venues and accoustics : Indoor and unamplified (amplified possible)
WINTER JOURNEYS
WINTER PROGRAM
“A mysterious and magnificent journey into the heart of winter made of transcriptions and arrangements
of traditional or classical airs. Each melody intoned is a delight of purity and precision.”
(FRANCE MUSIQUE)
Sankta Lucia in Sweden, the winter solstice in the Baltic countries, Christmas celebrations… December celebrations have brought people together and united them for thousands of years. When the surrounding darkness meets the joy of gathering, of laughing… of singing to ward off the cold. You will be invited to come take tea at the Sugar Plum Fairy’s house, swept into a mystical epic beneath the ice… You will meet the Spirits of Christmas and be invited to climb aboard the sleigh of the illustrious Father Winter. Not to mention the dance of a pretty Brazilian butterfly, flitting from flower to flower, tells us of the warmth of its summer Christmas…
Program: Christmas carols, winter solstice songs, compositions…
Venues and acoustics: Indoors and unamplified
Special feature: Performed with a percussionist, possible as a trio.
DREAM LAND
NIGHT – DREAMS – MAGIC
DREAM LAND explores that fragile in-between where anything becomes possible, where imagination breaks free, and where visions emerge, masked figures, mysterious queens, mischievous spirits and moonlight with shifting reflections.
Night is also that time apart, conducive to secrets, hidden impulses, furtive encounters and whispered desires.
Through an a cappella program blending works by Fauré, Poulenc, world songs and other repertoires around the theme of night, Les Itinérantes give voice to the multiple faces of dreams – by turns luminous, playful, unsettling or soothing.
An ode to the night, from its spells to its mirages.
Program : world music, French chanson, compositions or arrangements on the themes of night, dreams,
magic…
Venues and accoustics : Indoor, amplified or not
LET THE SUN SHINE
COLLABORATION WITH A GUITARIST/LUTHIST
Merrily blending styles and languages, the 3 singers of the a cappella trio “Les Itinérantes” and baroque guitarist and lutenist Charles-Edouard Fantin, invite you on a musical journey around the world while following the sun’s course: a gentle embarkation in the land of the rising sun. Then heading to old Europe, with a few surprise stops, sun at its zenith in Andalusia and its captivating rhythms!
A little further North: in France, where everything ends in songs…
In England? The Beatles, of course!
And come witness the sunset on the beaches of Brazil to the rhythm of bossa nova, sipping a refreshing caipirinha…
Program: traditional world songs, French song, variety
Venues and acoustics: Indoors, preferably amplified, compatible with performance halls
Performers: Manon COUSIN, Pauline LANGLOIS DE SWARTE, Elodie PONT (3 singers) and Charles-Edouard FANTIN (guitarist/lutenist).