The Baroque ensemble Les
grâces formed in the spring of 2008 in order to explore seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century music. The ensemble’s performances are equally inspired by
the four young performers’ passionate musicianship, as well as their
collective study of historical performance practices at leading conservatories
in Europe and the US.
The name Les grâces stems from
a long literary and artistic tradition. The number of graces varies in different
depictions, but there were usually three. Daughters of Zeus and Hera, they were representations of brightness
(Aglaia), joyfulness (Euphrosyne), and bloom (Thalia). Seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century artists frequently depicted them as nude females, united by a
sash, representing harmony. Taken as general symbols of love, beauty, and
fertility, they are often accompanied by Cupid or Mercury, their male
counterparts.
