Since 2015, Les Arts Florissants has been in residence at the Philharmonie de Paris, the concert hall designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel and inaugurated that year.

By Martine P. Dulles and Frederick H. Dulles PHOTO ©️ DECLERCQ PASSEMENTIERS: LA CHAMBRE DU ROI, VERSAILLES In the northeast of Paris, in a small village, is an “atelier d’art” that makes the most exquisite textile decorative items: Declercq Passementiers. The French word “passementerie” comes from “passement” and dates from the 12th century. The official dictionary of the Académie française defines it as “A flat strip of fabric in which are interwoven threads of gold, silver, silk, wool,...

By Frederick H. Dulles and Martine P. Dulles Portrait of Lafayette, Commander of the National Guard, October 1790. Pastel on paper Paris, Fondation Josée et René de Chambrun, FC 15.1.46; copyrights Jean-Baptiste Weyler. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AUTHORS To Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette: Editor’s Note: The authors write from France and prefer the French form La Fayette instead of the American one and prefer noble titles capitalized even standing alone; note how it shifts in usage, but...