Poésie et Mandoline
An extraordinary and unique fusion of poetry and music
The sounds of the mandolin meet the power of words
The voice — sometimes gentle and intense, sometimes firm and clear, highlighting all the symbolic or philosophical nuances.
The mandolin — enlightening and enriching, with the power to strike an emotional chord in the listener's heart.
The Duo Apollinaire consists of reciter Albert Croce and mandolinist Wolfgang Scheel. Not only have they succeeded in feeling and understanding the work of great poets and musicians, but they have also been able to combine this understanding with their wise life experience, transcribe it into their own unique interpretation and convey it to the listener in an easily understandable and captivating way through the power of words and sounds.
Although the two had known each other for a long time, it was a chance invitation to an artist's house that sealed their project. What was just a meeting gradually grew in scope. Warmly acclaimed during their first recital at the Maison Cunningham in Eymet by an enthralled audience, the two friends — one of German origin, the other marked by his many years in England — have since given numerous performances, notably during the Printemps des Poètes festival in the Dordogne.
Their repertoire spans centuries: from the quatrains of Omar Khayyam to Titi Robin, via the torments of Baudelaire, the melancholy of Apollinaire, the cries of Anna Akhmatova and the serenity of Andrée Chedid. Here, words sing incessantly of love or rebel against the cruelty of tyrants. Carried by the chords of the mandolin, they glide, for a moment out of time, twirling, harmonising, whispering or screaming. Poetry becomes effervescence and overflow; a surreal force that becomes real and, above all, a vibrant celebration of life.
Mandolins and books from three centuries
The Duo Apollinaire –
An unforgettable range of emotions and reflections...
… on life and passion, love and eternity
… on silence and oblivion, calm and hope
… on mystery and memory, union and separation
Album (published in 2025)
Duo Apollinaire
«Poésie et Mandoline»
In this cycle of 18 pieces, the poetic and musical parts intertwine in a very harmonious and aestheticmanner, emphasising the depth and beauty of meaning that penetrates to the depths of the soul.
The tracks were recorded, mixed and mastered at Sky Music Studio 24 in Monbazillac (France) between June 2024 and February 2025.
Cette sélection d’œuvres au sein du Duo Apollinaire n’est pas le fruit du hasard. Débutant par le chef-d’œuvre de Guillaume Apollinaire, il plonge l’auditeur dans une palette d’émotions toujours plus vaste au fil des poèmes de Paul Verlaine, Anna Akhmatova, Arthur Rimbaud, Titi Robin et Charles Baudelaire. Le voyage s’achève en retrouvant la mélancolie paisible du premier poème, Le Pont Mirabeau. L’œuvre se déploie like a meditation on love and time, illustrating the cyclical and immutable nature of existence.
Who is this album for? For anyone seeking to nourish their inner world and escape from everyday life. It is an invitation to feel, reflect and live intensely, for anyone who cultivates the art of introspection and compassion.
« L’homme devrait écouter un peu de musique chaque jour, lire un peu de poésie et contempler une belle image, afin que les soucis mondains n’éclipsent pas le sens de la beauté que Dieu a placé dans l’âme humaine. »
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
‘A poem is a prolonged hesitation between sound and meaning.’
Paul Valery
Audio samples
Listen to some of our works...
Three poems set to music by Duo Apollinaire, available to discover exclusively. Listen to three tracks from the current album ‘Poésie et Mandoline’ (Poetry and Mandolin), recorded by Martin Lascelles at Sky Music Studio in Monbazillac (France) between June 2024 and February 2025.
The Poet evokes with sadness and nostalgia a past love, an inconsolable break-up linked to the passing of time, like water flowing away.
Mandoline is a musical poem, right down to its title. Listening to it, we play the role of a guest at a joyful country party, reminiscent of the echoes of the fêtes galantes of the painter Watteau and the theatre of the Commedia Del Arte.
This poem is a metaphor for life. Spring is birth and carefreeness. Summer is adulthood in its prime. Autumn is when the joys of life are short-lived, and winter is when old age quickly catches up with us.
Unforgettable recitals
Come and see us live on stage!
Upcoming concerts by Duo Apollinaire:
Château de Monboucher
17 April 2026 at 7 p.m. – 18 Route de Monboucher, 24680 Lamonzie Saint Martin, chateaudemonboucher.com
- 09 October 2025 – Librairie «La Mauvaise Herbe», 17 Rue du Temple, 24500 Eymet
- 24 July 2025 – Galerie «Jeanne & Sauvage», 65 Rue du Port, 24510 Limeuil
- 06 April 2025 – Maison d’Allen Cunningham, 38 Rue de L’engin, 24500 Eymet
- 05 + 06 October 2024 – «Concert de Salon», Haut Drayaux, Sauveboeuf, 24150 Lalinde
- 14 September 2024 – Maison d’Allen Cunningham, 38 Rue de L’engin, 24500 Eymet
- 07 June 2024 — Les Amis de Sally la Salamandre, Pouthet Ouest, 24500 Eymet
- 27 April 2024 – Les Amis de la Brouette – 24560 Saint Aubain de Lanquais
- 16 February 2024 – Librairie «La Mauvaise Herbe», 17 Rue du Temple, 24500 Eymet
- 16 December 2023 – Café-philo «L’Eternel retour», 47175 Monflanquin
