40 choristers, 17 musicians, two soloists for an exceptional concert in Cahors

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It’s a moment of music that promises to be exceptional. L’ensemble vocal Voce d’Olt organizes a grand concert Saturday November 30 at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday December 1, 2024 at 5 p.m. at the Saint-Barthélémy church in Cahors to celebrate the centenary of the death of Puccini.

Puccini’s Mass of Glory in Cahors

On the program, the Messa di Gloria, famous mass by Puccini performed by the 40 choristers of the ensemble directed by Géraldine Gaillard. They will be accompanied by 17 musicians, those of the Suliko Quartet and the Vermeeren Ensemble for the strings, reinforced by local musical personalities such as Jean-Marie Rodrigues to constitute a complete chamber orchestra. Two soloists will also be present: tenor François Almuzara, from the conservatories of Toulouse and Lyon, who started with Graines d’étoiles and tours in operas in France and Europe, and Matthieu Heim, bass-baritone, who is part of the Baroque Ensemble of Versailles and comes from the Paris Conservatory.

They will perform Puccini’s Messa, as well as his Requiem and Scherzo. This Messa by Puccini, which remains easy to access for the public, was his first, composed in 1880 for his examination at the Istituto Musicale Pacini, a prestigious musical academy. It was performed for two years before falling into oblivion, only to be re-emerged in 1952.

It was given for the first time in Cahors in 1986 by the Chorale de Cahors.

Today, it is the vocal ensemble Voce d’Olt which takes over. Moreover, some of its members were part of the Cahors Choir in 1986 and are moved to take it back.

L’ensemble Voce d’Olt

The vocal ensemble Voce d’Olt, directed since its beginnings by Géraldine Gaillard, was created in 2022, with most of the former members of the Divona ensemble, when its choir director, Albertus Derksen, ceased his activity.

Voce d’Olt remained a continuation of Divona, remaining in a religious and classical repertoire of the Renaissance, but also opened up to French variety, under the leadership of its new choir director Géraldine Gaillard.

From 2022, the first rehearsals could take place, for the first concerts in 2023, notably at the market concert, in Mercuès, Pradines and even in Villesèque. The choristers rehearse every other Friday, and one Sunday per month, in an atmosphere that is both studious and friendly, which at each Sunday rehearsal ends with a shared meal. The ensemble took up Puccini’s Messa from the start, presenting extracts such as the Gloria in concert, but also pieces by Verdi, Purcell, and even “The Quest” by Jacques Brel.

This time, it is the entire Messa, a 45-minute work, which will be presented to the public, accompanied by Puccini’s Requiem and Scherzo, for a complete concert lasting 1 hour 15 minutes.

On Friday November 29, the exact day of the centenary of Puccini’s death, the Voce d’Olt vocal ensemble will perform Puccini’s Messa, this time accompanied only on the piano by Anne-Lise Labusquières, at 8:30 p.m. at the church of Labastide-Murat (hat concert) to pay tribute to the composer.

Price for Cahors concerts: €18, reduced €12, free for under 18s. Ticket sales on site 30 minutes before the concert, or online on the Hello Asso website (www.helloasso.com/associations/voce-d-olt). From this site; it is also possible to participate in the crowdfunding campaign launched by the association to help them set up these concerts.

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