RAVEL'S BOLERO

Boléro is the most performed classical music work in the world with a performance every 15 minutes. During its creation, the composer had given the copyright to his gardener without foreseeing its success with the general public. This work is the archetype of the ostinato. The melody is taken up in turn by the various instruments of the orchestra on a rhythmic formula with percussion.

MOZART'S REQUIEM

The particular circumstances of commissioning this work, and the somewhat tragic conditions of its writing, on the deathbed of its author, feed the legend. In July 1791, Count Walsegg-Stuppach, under the seal of secrecy, commissioned a Requiem from Mozart for his wife, who died in February. The work was postponed until October, due to the overwork experienced by the composer taken by the Clemence of Titus and by the Magic Flute.

When Mozart died, the Requiem remained an unfinished work. In the final phase of his illness, Mozart had written the entire “Requiem aeternam”: from Kyrie to Confutatis, only the vocal parts and the basso continuo were written. For the Lacrimosa, only the first eight bars of the voice and the first two bars of the violin and viola parts. Sketches of additional parts have been lost. While he was bedridden, friends came to sing parts of the Requiem at his bedside.

Dynamic and eclectic, the Hélios orchestra has established itself since its creation in 2014.

Its artistic director, Paul Savalle, promotes the professional integration of young musicians through orchestral practice. Thus, young graduates mingle with orchestral musicians, conductors and experienced soloists, in optimal working conditions.

From baroque music to contemporary music, the programs are varied. As for the repertoire, it is both symphonic and choral, the orchestra associating itself with departmental and regional choirs.

Thanks to the collaboration of different conductors, the musicians approach a very rich repertoire by broadening their palette of interpretation. They all come from major French conservatories, some belonging to a national orchestra.

From the string quartet to the symphony orchestra, via the brass ensemble, the orchestra always expands its audience by modulating its composition. The “strings” formation performs in picturesque places that cannot accommodate a symphony orchestra, which allows the public to discover a very rich architectural heritage.

In short, thanks to its variable-geometry formation, the Hélios orchestra approaches the widest repertoire with passionate curiosity.