“The songs from the medieval manuscripts of the Basilica of Saint-Denis”
Thursday June 13 • 7 p.m. • register here !
with the Centre des monuments nationaux

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Denis is famous for its architecture and its Gothic stained glass windows, wanted and designed by Abbot Suger (1080/1151), which make it a showcase for light. But what do we know about the songs that were created there, which resonated under its vaults? Thanks to the manuscripts they left us, Erwan Piquet invites you to follow in the footsteps of the musical monks of the abbey, from the 11th to the 14th centuries: the precantor who made the monks rehearse for the various celebrations (including the great feast in honor of Saint Denis), the copyist monks who in the secret of the scriptorium recorded old songs and new compositions by means of musical notations, the monks who reflected on the theory of music and the performance of songs. And finally, among them, the one who, although a monk, dared to sing of courtly love, and that certain manuscripts from the 13th century. name “the monk of Saint-Denis”!

Hosted by Erwan Picquet, choir director of the Saint-Denis conservatory and specialist in medieval music.

After studying lyrical singing at the Versailles Conservatory, Erwan Picquet discovered the richness of medieval and Renaissance music thanks to the teachings of Anne-Marie Deschamps, Jean-Paul Rigaud, Raphaël Picazos and Véronique Bourin.
He performs with different medieval music ensembles including Venance Fortunat, Beatus, Comet Musicke. He is the co-founder of Rue des Chantres, an ensemble specializing in improvisation and interpretation of repertoires from the 12th and 13th centuries. He also performs with Renaissance music ensembles (Doulce Mémoire, Enthéos…) and Baroque music (Akadêmia, Stradivaria, Concerto Italiano…). With these ensembles, he has performed in several prestigious festivals including AMUZ (B), Voix et Route Romane, La Chaise-Dieu, Sinfonia en Périgord, Nuits Musicales d’Uzès, Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims, Mirabilia (E) , Les Concerts de Romainmôtier (CH), Festivaliai de Vilnius (LT).
Among the records he recorded, Lux Lucis compares different ancient traditions of sacred chants from the West, Byzantium and Persia (Beatus, ed. Bayard Musique). The double disc Quinze highlights the songs of two major composers of the 15th century. : Gilles Binchois and Johannes Ockeghem (Comet Musicke, ed. Son an ero).
He is actively involved in the promotion and transmission of medieval music, particularly in master classes and singing courses with professionals, students, choirs and schools. He is the founder and artistic director of the medieval music season of the cathedral basilica of Saint-Denis, created in 2021 thanks to the support of the Center des monuments nationaux (CMN – Ministry of Culture).
He participates in various projects to promote research in the field of medieval music in partnership with the CNRS, Sorbonne University and Columbia University. With Rue des Chantres, he recently collaborated with acoustics researchers for the PHEND (Past Has Ears at Notre Dame) project, a European project for the virtual acoustic reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in the Middle Ages.
Since 2017, he has been a singing teacher and choir director at the Saint-Denis Conservatory of Music and Dance.