The second half of the eighteenth century was a time of great change in society all over Europe, the age of Enlightenment had reached its peak and arts and sciences were blossoming due to the newly empowered bourgeoisie.
In 1765 an educated society of prominent intellectuals, philosophers and artists was founded in the city of Birmingham – the Lunar Society. The members of this club met once a month during full moon in order to return home in natural light, in the absence of street lighting. These lunarticks, as they called themselves, discussed the latest inventions and discoveries in the field of sciences, as well as artistic and philosophical subjects.
Deriving their name from this club, the young German ensemble Société Lunaire researches and revives the chamber music of the period between 1750 and 1800, a time relatively neglected in the field of historically informed performance practice. Next to the violin/viola and cello, the ensemble features two of the most popular instruments of the period, the transverse flute and the harp.
The courts of Paris, London and Berlin featured the best virtuoso musicians of this period, and with the growing confidence and power of the bourgeoisie, the middle class copied the love of the aristocracy for chamber music and many works for smaller ensemble settings were composed.
Société Lunaire explores the vivid and varied music that developed from the late Baroque, over the galant style of the Sturm und Drang, to the early classical style, covering a period in time that included the French revolution and the rise of Napoleon, as well as the opening of the first chocolate factory.
Société Lunaire 