In January 2015, the violinist Julien Chauvin founded a new period-instrument orchestra with the ambition of reviving an essential component of French musical history: the Concert de la Loge Olympique.
That orchestra, founded in 1783 by the Comte d’Ogny, was then considered one of the finest in Europe and has remained famous for commissioning the ‘Paris’ Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. At that time, a substantial majority of musicians were Freemasons, and many concert associations were linked to Masonic Lodges such as the Loge Olympique de la Parfaite Estime.
The modern, flexibly sized ensemble presents chamber, symphonic and vocal-operatic programmes directed from the violin or the baton and champions a wide repertory ranging from the Baroque era to the early twentieth century.
The aim of this recreation project is also to explore new forms of concerts, harking back to the spontaneity of late-eighteenth practice, which intermingled different genres and artists in a single programme, and to establish links with other artistic disciplines.
Since it was founded, the ensemble has toured many venues with operas including Haydn’s ‘Armida’ directed by Mariame Clément, Sacchini’s ‘Le Cid’ directed by Sandrine Anglade, Lemoyne’s ‘Phèdre’ and Isouard’s ‘Cendrillon’ staged by Marc Paquien for the Palazzetto Bru Zane and Mozart’s ‘Die Entführung aus dem Serail’ staged by Christophe Rulhes. It also enjoys regular collaborations with such renowned soloists as Karina Gauvin, Sandrine Piau, Philippe Jaroussky and Justin Taylor.
On disc, the orchestra has recorded six volumes of Haydn’s complete ‘Paris’ Symphonies (Aparté label) with works from the same period performed at the Concert de la Loge Olympique. In addition, the ensemble has devoted itself to rediscovering other repertoires: the French melodies orchestrated in ‘Si j’ai aimé’ with Sandrine Piau (Alpha label), the ‘Symphonies de Salons’ (Aparté label), and violin concerti for the Naïve label with the release in 2020 of the 63rd volume of the Vivaldi Edition ‘Il Teatro’, followed in by ‘Intorno a Pisendel in 2022.
In 2021, Le Concert de la Loge has begun a new collaboration with the Alpha label around Mozart’s three last symphonies, followed by Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem and, most recently, the world premiere on historical instruments of Gluck’s opera ‘Iphigénie en Aulide’. These recordings have all received critical acclaim, earning such distinctions as the Diamant d’Opéra Magazine, Choc de Classica, Sélection Le Monde, ffff Télérama and the Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros…
The ensemble is supported by the Ministère de la Culture, the Ville de Paris, the Region Île-de-France, the Société Générale C’est vous l’avenir Foundation (its main sponsor), the Fonds de dotation Françoise Kahn-Hamm and the sponsors who are members of Club Olympe. It is in residence at the Jean-Baptiste Lully Conservatory in Puteaux and at the Arsenal – Cité musicale-Metz. It is also an associate artist in residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac, as well as an associate ensemble at the Auditorium du Louvre and the Théâtre Sénart. In 2021, the ensemble has begun a four-year cross-residency with the Association pour le Développement des Activités Musicales dans l’Aisne (ADAMA) and the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles.