In 2009, the Atlantic Harp Duo participated in a musical, theatrical production of fables by Jean de la Fontaine, directed by Alain de Bock, with original music by Damien Luce. The production made its debut in the spring in Paris at the Musée Carnavalet and later ran for four weeks in autumn, first at the Théâtre du Tambour Royal and then at the Théâtre de Nesle. With two harps on stage, the duo interacted with the actors by playing incidental music between certain fables as well as by providing sound effects during the text. As a result of this project, the Atlantic Harp Duo welcomes a new addition to the harp duo repertoire, Serenade for two harps, by Damien Luce.

“Everything speaks in my work, even the fish.”

~Jean de la Fontaine

For his cast of animals, Jean de la Fontaine chose such noble creatures as the lion, the cat, and the elephant. But he also included those normally rejected by humans: the rat, the wolf, the spider, the snake, and others. These animals, symbolically evil and ugly in our imagination, are most often lauded in La Fontaine’s fables, and can be more cunning than the others. This collection gives preference to three of these: the wolf, the snake, and the rat. We also encounter Man himself. Isn’t he, in a sense, the creature the most rejected by his peers?