Isn’t playing contemporary jazz on 17th-century instruments a temporal paradox? What better way to illustrate this point than by drawing inspiration from H.G. Wells’ famous work, "The Time Machine"?

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David Chevallier, a composer well-versed in the contemporary reinterpretation of early music, had the idea of illustrating the concept of time travel by using 17th-century instruments to perform an original repertoire, whose structure follows the unfolding of Wells’ novel step by step.

 

Comic book author Vincent Sorel brings the story to life through illustrations, interacting with the musicians to give form to the intriguing and unsettling world imagined by H.G. Wells. 

 

The four soloists who make up this group are unique in that they play both early and modern instruments, performing both early and contemporary music, whether written or improvised. This distinctive approach makes it possible to form a quartet that functions like any modern jazz ensemble, yet produces a sound entirely new to this form of expression, as it uses exclusively instruments typical of the Baroque era. 

 

Dramaturgy and staging signed by Rémi Lelong, whose sensitive and contemporary approach to the stage perfectly complements the show’s narrative and musical elements. The lighting design is by François Poppe, whose work sculpts the space and subtly highlights the moods, enhancing the immersive quality of this journey through time.