Poised in her chair in front of the television cameras, French singer and The Voice jury member Amel Bent hums along to the melody being played blind behind her.
“What’s that song again?,” she says. “It’s ‘Blinding Lights’”, says Tayc, another jury member, after a few more seconds.
Unbeknown to the jury, out of sight behind them The Weeknd’s mainstream pop hit is being interpreted by three minstrels dressed up in medieval attire.
Their version, entitled ‘Les Chandelles’ (‘Candlelight’), features the trio playing a lute, a harp and a drum. The lyrics, meanwhile, are sung in françois (old French), giving the original synthpop song a medieval-flavour sound.
Courseval, the trio comprising Justin Langlois, 29-year-old singer and lute player, 24-year-old harp player Jocelyn Daprey and 29-year-old drummer Armand Delaville, are a group that play ‘bardcore’ – medieval-inspired remakes of popular songs.
Their participation in The Voice came as a stroke of luck.
The production contacted Justin, who had previously made an appearance as a solo singer, to offer him a second chance. In the intervening years he had joined Courseval, and would only agree to perform again if he could do so with the band.
Although none of The Voice’s jury members turned their chairs to see Courseval in the flesh – and thereby let them advance to the next round – the trio still consider themselves winners.
Alexis Tournaille
“We knew our concept was a bit off-the-wall," Armand told The Connexion. “It was a good opportunity and gave us visibility,” he added.
Modern songs - medieval attire
Courseval is the brainchild of Jocelyn Daprey, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist who developed a passion for the Middle Ages after watching The Lord Of The Rings as an eight-year-old long before discovering bardcore.
The genre first came to the fore in December 2017, when YouTube channel Algal The Bard published his version of System Of A Down’s ‘Toxicity’, replacing the electric guitar with a lute.
It gained greater exposure during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, when a number of channels released popular songs interpreted in the bardcore musical style.
Founded in 2024, Courseval pushed authenticity to new levels, dressing up in medieval attire, recording songs, shooting videos and performing in medieval locations such as castles and abbeys.
Though their works include timeless French-language classics such as ‘Désenchantée’ by Mylène Farmer or ‘Emmenez-moi’ by Charles Aznavour (where the original lyrics are kept unchanged), most of their catalogue sees them rearrange American and British pop tracks.
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’, for example, becomes ‘Amoureux de votre corps’, Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ turns into ‘Je survivrai’, and Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’ is ‘Perdu dans l’abîme’.
Much like medieval English and its ‘tis, ‘ye’, ‘thee’ and ‘thou’, Courseval employs similar françois terms, meaning that adapting English lyrics is the hardest part of the creative process.
“You need to keep the essence of original lyrics, the imagery and rhyme schemes, yet you also have to adapt them in the context of a courting song to make it flow in old French,” Armand said.
English readers may be familiar with this pre-chorus version of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’:
‘Girl, you know I want your love / Your love was handmade for somebody like me / Come on now, follow my lead / I may be crazy, don't mind me’.
Rendered into Courseval’s françois, it becomes: ‘Dames, vous êtes bien au courant / De ce que j’attends de vous ardemment / Lâchez-vous sur le temps / de la musique qui résonne à cet instant’.
Viral sensation
The band's success has been surprisingly rapid.
Three of their songs have gained more than 100K views on YouTube, where, thanks to the platform’s algorithms, the band has tapped into an audience of English-speaking viewers.
“I'm wondering how YouTube brought me to the French bardcore Lady Gaga covers side of the internet, but I'm very happy for it. Y'all are really talented!!! Thank you for sharing,” commented one user on their ‘Mal Amour’ cover of ‘Bad Romance’.
Recently, they have played in castles, abbeys and medieval museums in Domfront (Orne) and Azincourt (Pas-de-Calais), Blandy (Seine-et-Marne), Caen (Calvados) and Avranches (Manche), and their schedule of concerts is full until November.
In April, they were busy rehearsing for the summer season, and are set to perform at the Médiévales de Bayeux festival on July 4.
Asked about the reason behind their success, Armand said: “It’s a combination of offbeat yet familiar pieces: covers of well-known songs, approached in an original way. We add vocals to instrumental tracks (like bardcore), and we adapt the lyrics rather than translating them literally. It creates an effect that feels both new and comforting.”
To learn more about Courseval, visit their website with links to their YouTube, Spotify, Deezer and Bandcamp accounts.
