Thélème

The Swiss emsemble Thélème seeks to integrate early music of the Renaissance with sounds of the present day, both contemporary concert music and, on occasion, rock. The group relies on collaboration with various creative figures who have included Police lead singer Sting. At the core of Thélème is the pair of vocalist Jean-Christophe Groffe and lutenist Ziv Braha, but the group takes on a varied membership according to the needs of its performance projects and recordings. Thélème was founded by Groffe in 2013 in Basel, Switzerland. Its members have been associated with the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, a venerable educational institution in the city that specializes in the performance of early music. The term Thélème comes from the writings of François Rabelais; in his novel Gargantua and Pantagruel, he describes an abbey of that name where companions share "the pleasures of reading, writing, singing, and playing harmonious instruments, and respect only one single rule: do what you want." Thélème, state the group members, "embraces the past by maintaining a living dialogue with early works and nurtures a fruitful anachronism." The ensemble released its debut album, Moment Musical, on the Coviello Classics label in 2017, immediately stating its unusual programming approach with its combination of Clément Janequin and Franz Schubert in "an imaginary friendship." Thélème performs a variety of programs, centered on one or two composers. or on a musical idea. The group's music emphasizes compositions of the 16th century but generally juxtaposes them with later works. Thélème has at times included such instruments as a viola da gamba, saxophone, ondes Martenot, and synthesizer, and it has worked with writers, actors, dancers and choreographers, and other creative figures. The group has made several more albums for Coviello Classics, Kairos, and, since the 2021 release Josquin Desprez: Basiez Moy, Aparte; the latter album won the Award for Early Music from Gramophone magazine. Among the group's collaborators has been rock star Sting, who appeared on its 2024 Aparte release All We Get Is Life singing his Shape of My Heart in a Renaissance style. Sting had previously released an album of music by Dowland, one of the two composers featured on the album; the other is John Cage.
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