Les Idées heureuses: Chaconnes and the Taste of Chocolate

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With Chaconne et chocolat : délectations espagnoles, Les Idées heureuses continues a musical adventure it began a few years ago. Its theme: the fascinating chaconne. Having explored France, Germany, Italy and England, this new program invites audiences on a trip to Spain with a few detours to South America, cradle of many artistic influences that have nourished this musical form.

Les Idées heureuses performing Pâtés en croûte et vieux ragots. Photo: Brenden Friesen

The heart of the project is the richness and diversity of the chaconne. “The chaconne as a dance and an instrumental form is rather a chameleon: you can enter into all sorts of emotions, choose any genre, discover music that’s very simple or very complex,” says Dorothéa Ventura, artistic director of the ensemble. It’s built on a repeated bass and provides space for variation, ornamentation and improvisation, sometimes creating an almost hypnotic, trance-like effect.

The players certainly recognize this repetitive and immersive dimension. “I sense in the chaconne something very corporeal, that comes from inside,” says soprano Denise Torre. Indeed, beyond its formal structure, the chaconne engages body, breath and movement, with an earthiness and popularity derived from its Latin American source. Also, many of the artists brought together for this concert are from South America—Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Chile, for example—and bring a particular sensibility to the repertoire.

However, Chaconne et chocolat is not just a historic revival. It’s a collective effort in which the musicians become creators. “Some of the pieces have gaps and they need to be orchestrated, given colour, so we pass our collective creativity on to the audience,” says Ventura. And without much rehearsal time, this collaborative method is all the more valuable. Torre adds that “this support provides the freedom to be creative. While reconstructing this music with respect to its origins, we inevitably invest our own attitudes and feelings.”

Finally, the title of the program evokes a crossing of cultures. Chocolate, like the chaconne, has its roots in South America, reaching Europe later. Chocolate can be savoured, like the concert on May 6, where traditions merge with passion and relish.