Since its creation in 2017, Ensemble la Sportelle has established itself as a unique voice in the sacred music landscape. A flexible vocal ensemble of 9 to 24 singers, it explores both a cappella repertoire and major oratorios, sometimes accompanied by organ or instrumental ensemble. Based in Rocamadour, in the Lot region, a millennium-old pilgrimage site, the ensemble draws inspiration from this exceptional setting and takes its name from “La Sportelle,” the almond-shaped medal given to pilgrims, symbolizing Rocamadour’s centuries-old spiritual radiance.

Inspired by Francis Poulenc’s encounter with Rocamadour and nourished by ten centuries of sacred music, Ensemble la Sportelle is dedicated to revealing this repertoire in a fresh and meaningful light. Under the artistic direction of Emmeran Rollin, and in collaboration with distinguished guest conductors such as Nigel Short, Owain Park, and Loïc Pierre, the singers combine the expressive qualities of soloists with the precision of a chamber choir. Each concert is conceived as a renewed experience: blending sound immersion, spatial design, lighting, and scenography, in search of sensitivity and beauty, to move audiences and foster genuine encounters.

Variable Geometry in the Service of Meaning

The Ensemble La Sportelle has conceived its vocal architecture as a living organism, capable of metamorphosing to embrace each score with absolute precision. This plasticity rests on three complementary forms that are not merely different roster sizes, but three facets of a single standard of acoustic excellence.

Everything originates from the Consort, a core of nine singers where the individual steps back in favor of a single, sovereign instrument. In this one-voice-per-part formation, the group works in complete autonomy, without external direction. It is here, within the intimacy of chamber music, that our identity is forged: a fusion of timbres of almost crystalline purity and a constant mutual listening.

Upon this foundational base, the Chamber Choir is built. By expanding the ensemble to seventeen voices, it gains in depth and color without losing any of its transparency. It is the perfect balance between the power of the collective and the agility of detail, allowing it to navigate between contrapuntal clarity and the sensuality of the great a cappella frescoes of the modern and contemporary repertoires.

Finally, to tackle the heights of the great repertoire, the Ensemble La Sportelle scales up into the Oratorio Choir. Bolstered by twenty-five singers, the ensemble engages in dialogue with the orchestra or the great organ. Yet, where sheer mass could easily become muddled, our pyramidal structure guarantees clarity: the rigor and precision of the Consort continuously infuse this monumental formation. Whether murmuring a confidence or proclaiming the majesty of a Requiem, our conviction remains identical: to convey, with equal fervor, a message of beauty and hope.

They trust us: The Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, the Théâtre Impérial in Compiègne, the Opéra d’Avignon, the Opéra de Vichy, the Flâneries Musicales de Reims, Via Aeterna at Mont-Saint-Michel, the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, the Festivals of Rocamadour, Musikfest Bremen, Fribourg, La Chaise-Dieu, Besançon, Sablé, Sylvanès…