Le Bestiaire

Sweet Saint-Saëns and wicked Apollinaire may be empires apart, but their hilarious animal portraits in Le Carnaval des Animaux and Le Bestaire ooze the same satirical genius. Belgian composer Piet Swerts translated the evident musicality in the Bestiaire poems into real melodies, and he rearranged Le Carnaval for clarinet, strings and piano. The acclaimed Roeland Hendrikx Ensemble fuses both zoos in an unparalleled chamber-musical Animal Farm which showcases the grand façades but also the foibles of the normal, and not so normal creatures that populate it. In 2015 Roeland Hendrikx founded his own chamber music ensemble, which essentially focuses on the rich repertoire for clarinet, piano and strings. In the largest line-up, there are six musicians on stage, but programmes in trio, quartet or quintet formation are also on offer.