Café des Chansons

Founded in Amsterdam in 2015, Café des Chansons explores the boundaries of French chanson in a unique guise. The ensemble pairs a professional classical string quartet, featuring violinists Giles Francis and Evelien Jaspers, viola player Odile Torenbeek and cellist Sebastiaan van Halsema, with Charlotte Haesen, who trained as a jazz singer. So all together Café des Chansons is a string quartet of four classically trained musicians who share their love and passion for chansons. In addition to collaborating with Charlotte Haesen, they also play in various leading Dutch orchestras, including  the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Phion, ASKO | Schönberg and Kamerata Zuid. Embracing a repertoire ranging from Haydn and Beethoven to Brel and Barbara, Café des Chansons enjoys playing music with a light touch just as much as the traditional classics.

Their repertoire ranges from the classics to our own original compositions, all of them scored for us by acclaimed arrangers. Against the classic sound of the string quartet, Charlotte creates a distinctive palette tinged with a jazz hue.

Don’t miss out on this intoxicating alchemy!