L'Histoire de Babar - musical show for children

Artemusica Paris brings together some fifteen professional musicians from a variety of prestigious ensembles (Radio-France Philharmonic Orchestra, Paris Opera, Republican Guard Orchestra, etc.).

Since 2013, we've been organising a chamber music festival in the heart of the Marais district in Paris, and we were very keen to offer young audiences a show dedicated to them and included in our Festival programme.

We asked Jacques Gandard, violinist, arranger, composer and conductor, to create a transcription of Francis Poulenc's "L'histoire de Babar", based on a text by Jean de Brunhoff.

Originally written for piano by Francis Poulenc, Jacques Gandard offers us here a version for string quintet: 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass. This formation also allows us to present the family of bowed string instruments as a whole!

We also use 2 narrators, 1 of whom speaks French Sign Language. More than just a translation of the text, the LSF actress, who is used to the "chansigne", also translates the sound atmosphere, the nuances, the tessitura... allowing total immersion in the musical universe.