Literature and Music with Thomas Sarbacher and Rachel Braunschweig

This concerns a bet. A game. A destruction. In Choderlos de Laclos’ novel 'Dangerous Liaisons', the Marquise de Merteuil wagers with the Vicomte de Valmont that he can seduce a pious schoolgirl from the convent (in revenge on his ex). However, the story of the pact is merely an elegant arrangement – the language, the wit, the poetic tricks in the game of seduction are more important than the seduction itself. It is precisely here where this novel meets the French Baroque composer Marin Marais. In his suites with their orgiastic variations over recurring bass themes, the Laclosian mixture of subtlety and sensuality can be heard, which Thomas Sarbacher and Rachel Braunschweig bring as the necessary seductive power.