La Chapelle Harmonique was founded in 2017 by Valentin Tournet. It brings together a choir and an orchestra playing on period instruments. The choice of repertoire, mainly centered on oratorio and Baroque opera, is accompanied by a desire to renew the approach to great works, focusing in particular on lesser-known and less-used editions: These include Bach's St John Passion (second version) and Magnificat (Christmas version), and Rameau's stage works.

In parallel with these large-scale concerts, the ensemble has taken up the challenge of innovative, multidisciplinary chamber music projects, which have enabled it to collaborate with personalities both inside and outside the so-called classical world, such as Jean-François Zygel (Double Bach), Lou de Laâge, Jennifer Decker & Alex Vizorek (Fables de La Fontaine), in partnership with institutions such as the Comédie française or the Cité internationale de la BD et de l'image d'Angoulême. This dual activity enables Valentin Tournet to move from that of a conductor to that of an instrumentalist, in a nourishing exchange with the musical practices he has favored along the way. In addition, La Chapelle Harmonique is committed to artistic and cultural education, in conjunction with the Limoges and Versailles Academies.

La Chapelle Harmonique is a regular guest at the Auditorium de Radio France, the Auditorium du Louvre and the Château de Versailles; it has also enjoyed residencies at the Festival d'Auvers-sur-Oise and the Festival de Saint-Denis.

Their operatic debut took place at the Festival International d'Opéra Baroque de Beaune with Rameau's Les Indes galantes.

Since 2019, La Chapelle Harmonique has been recording for the Château de Versailles Spectacles label.The ensemble has thus been able to experiment with and appropriate several spaces in this mythical French historical heritage site: Chapelle Royale, Salle des Croisades, Salle des Batailles. Its first album devoted to Bach's Magnificat and Cantatas for Christmas was released in 2019, followed by Rameau's Indes galantes in 2021, Rameau's Paladins and Bach's Motets in 2022, and Charpentier's Te Deum in 2023.Platée is scheduled for release in 2025, in the same collection.

SNCF Immobilier and Jolt Capital are patrons of La Chapelle Harmonique. Its activities are also supported by Spedidam. La Chapelle Harmonique is supported by the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the Centre national de la musique. The ensemble is in residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac.

Valentin Tournet has been immersed in a musical environment since his birth in 1996, and began playing the viola da gamba at the age of 5. He quickly developed a passion for this instrument, which he studied first at the Conservatoires of Issy-les-Moulineaux and Cergy-Pontoise (2001-2012), then at the Conservatoires of Brussels and Paris (2014-2018) with Christophe Coin and Philippe Pierlot. He received guidance from Jordi Savall. His hard work and passion for his instrument earned him the distinction of being the first violist to be named one of the "Révélations" at the Victoires de la Musique Classique awards in 2022.

His discovery of the orchestra at the Paris Opéra with the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine (2007-2010) sparked his passion for conducting, which he learned from Pierre Cao. At the same time, he met Philippe Herreweghe, who invited him to follow his work with his various ensembles.

In 2017, he founded the ensemble La Chapelle Harmonique, which brings together a choir and an orchestra playing on period instruments. With this ensemble, he tackles oratorios from Bach and Handel, as well as Rameau's stage music, with a view to returning to the original texts and questioning their aesthetics and style, while keeping up with the times.

Valentin Tournet and La Chapelle Harmonique made their debuts at the Festival de Beaune and the Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles (Rameau's Les Indes galantes, 2019), the Auditorium de Radio-France and the Festival de Saint-Denis (Handel's Messiah, 2019, 2021). They have also benefited from a residency at the Festival d'Auvers-sur-Oise (2018-2021) and are involved in multidisciplinary chamber creations at the Auditorium du Louvre, echoing the museum's programming.  In 2019, Valentin Tournet will be founding the Musique à la source festival in Creuse, where Alain Corneau's famous film Tous les matins du monde was shot. His aim is to reach out to new audiences and bring to the local population a repertoire that has hitherto had little exposure in this region, while highlighting its historical and architectural heritage.

His recordings are released on the Château de Versailles Spectacles label. The first, devoted to Bach's Magnificat and Cantatas for Christmas, was released in 2019, followed by Les Indes galantes (2021), the first complete recording of Rameau's Paladins, Bach's Motets (2022) and Charpentier's Te Deum (2023). Platée is scheduled for release in 2025, in the same collection.

"The young conductor and founder of La Chapelle Harmonique is one of the rising stars of Baroque music in France. Thierry Hillériteau (Le Figaro, 2019)

"King of the viola da gamba and conductor at 23, Valentin Tournet is France's no. 1 viola da gamba player.

UPDATED February 2024. PLEASE DESTROY ALL PREVIOUS VERSIONS.