Sébastien Daucé © Josep Molina

The organist and harpsichordist Sébastien Daucé is driven by the desire to revive an abundant yet little-known repertory, the sacred and secular music of seventeenth-century France. 

It was during his training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon that he met the future members of Correspondances. Initially in demand as a continuo player and vocal répétiteur (with the Pygmalion ensemble, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Maîtrise and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France among others), he formed the ensemble Correspondances in Lyon in 2009, assembling around him singers and instrumentalists with a passion for the French sacred repertory of the ‘Grand Siècle’. 

Sébastien Daucé’s desire to revive already well-known composers like Charpentier while also showcasing the work of lesser-known French artists has led it to create a series of concerts at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris in 2023 called ‘Les Heures Musicales de la Sainte-Chapelle’, in partnership with the Centre des monuments nationaux. Following on from the first edition of the festival – with all shows sold out – a second edition will occur in October 2024.  

Significant stages in the ensemble’s career have been tours to Japan, Colombia, the United States and China, alongside regular appearance in Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux, Italy, Poland). Its exploration of a little-performed and often unpublished repertory has led, with the support of the harmonia mundi label, to a discography of nineteen recordings that have attracted considerable press attention and have received such distinctions as the Diapason d’Or of the Year, ‘ffff’ de Télérama, ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone, ‘Choc’ of the Year in Classica, German Record Critics’ Award and ‘IRR’ Outstanding. 

Alongside his activities as a performing musician, Sébastien Daucé works with the leading scholars of seventeenth-century music, publishing regular articles and taking part in important performance practice projects. Passionately interested in questions of musical style, he edits the music that makes up the ensemble’s repertory, going so far as to recompose complete pieces, when necessary, as was the case in ‘Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit’. He has taught at the Pôle Supérieur de Paris since 2012. In 2018 he was guest artistic director of the London Festival of Baroque Music. In 2023, he became artistic director of ‘Les Promenades Musicales du Pays d'Auge’.

SEASON 2024/2025 - THIS BIOGRAPHY IS AVAILABLE BY COURTESY OF THE ENSEMBLE CORRESPONDANCES