Combining heritage and music from the same period, such is the idea of the Muses in Dialogue who organize the ancient music festival in Pic Saint-Loup and Gorges de l’Hérault, the 11th edition of which takes place from October 11 to 20.
Arouse curiosity
“The festival is itinerant, although Gignac and Saint-Martin-de-Londres are our bridgeheads with a recurring presence. We identify heritage places with compatible acoustics and we alternate each year,” explains Sylvain Sartre, artistic director of the festival.
Autumn, a period less busy with cultural offerings, is the ideal time to meet an audience which is certainly not used to this type of music, but, observes Sylvain Sartre, “far from big cities , there is a curiosity when after the concerts, people say it was great, for us it is the reward for our efforts.
A tribute to Scott Ross
The festival opens on October 11 at 8:30 p.m. with a tribute to the American harpsichordist Scott Ross for the 35th anniversary of his death. “Pierre Hantaï will perform a musical program from Couperin to Bach at the Château d’Assas where there is an exceptional harpsichord from the 17th century renowned throughout the world,” indicates Sylvain Sartre. The next day in Montpellier Nicolas Bomsel will give a conference at 5 p.m. on the all too brief but brilliant career of Scott Ross.
English music
In Gignac, on October 13, at Notre-DameLes-de-Grâce, the Clématis ensemble will present a program called “Three violins for three kings”, an Italian musical painting in the 17th century, pieces played before the kings of England.
On October 19, in the small Romanesque church of the Nativity of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Saint-Jean-de-Buèges, Mónica Pustilnik, theorbo player (ancestor of the guitar) and Lisandro Abadie on vocals will present a repertoire of English poetry very sentimental and poetic. “Texts by Shakespeare and other poets of his time. It will be completely Globe theater atmosphere,” announces the artistic director.
An ode to peace between West and East
The festival will conclude at the church of Saint-Martin-de-Londres on October 20 with the Canticum Novum ensemble which celebrates 13th century Spain and its three cultures. “It’s an event because we will have an ensemble of nine musicians while usually at this festival we program smaller groups. It is an ode to peace between the cultures of the West and the East,” concludes Sylvain Sartre.
Promoting early music
In addition to this festival, the association organizes that of Maguelone in June and in March the European Days of Early Music. “We are showing that this music is more accessible than it seems,” says Sylvain Sartre. “People have already heard this repertoire without knowing it. Many composers of film or series music have borrowed themes from composers of these periods (Master and Commander, Braveheart, Game of Thrones…)”. This educational work is bearing fruit little by little, over the years, word of mouth works and the public has confidence.
