Grand concert-tribute to Pierre de COUBERTIN – Fauré, Vierne, Widor – by Harmonica vocis and the 50 choristers from Lausanne. Concerts for soloist, choir and two organs conducted by Julien Laloux. The “Homage” program is composed of works by Vierne, Widor, Fauré: contemporary composers of Pierre de Coubertin and continues with works by Beethoven on the theme of peace and fraternity, so dear to the founder of the Olympic Games. This program is composed of works by three Parisian composers and organists, contemporaries of Pierre de Coubertin – who died like him in 1937. Four texts by the latter will enter into dialogue with the music. The famous Toccata by the great organist Charles-Marie Widor – formerly in charge at Sulpice – opens the concert in the grandiose spirit of the Olympic Games. Toccare (to touch) in Italian translates to playing (an instrument) in French and translates well the playful spirit which takes hold of the musician as soon as he touches his instrument to…touch his audience. It is to achieve this playful and artistic goal – inspired by Greek Antiquity – that Coubertin designed his games. A student of Widor, Louis Vierne was organist at Notre-Dame de Paris. One of his students said of him “that he had become the soul of his cathedral.” In his Messe solennelle for choir and two organs he plays with the generous acoustics of the place, the voices of the choir and the sound planes of the small and large organ His Toccata echoes that of his master. For the organist, it is a matter of avoiding the pitfalls of this journey strewn with pitfalls! The evening continues with a very beautiful triptych Les Angelus for mezzo-soprano and organ by the same composer. This inner calm responds to the extremely famous Canticle of Jean Racine by Gabriel Fauré, whose hundredth anniversary of his death is being celebrated this year. This third composer-organist – formerly chapel master, then tenured here – will close this program. This final appeasement, a sort of blessing, will echo the peace and fraternity so dear to Coubertin. To conclude, the Olympic Anthem by Spýros Samáras will crown this exceptional concert, courtesy of the International Olympic Committee. HEP Chamber Choir “Harmonia Vocis” Soloists: Marielou Jacquard Organs: Vincent Thévenaz, Guy-Baptiste Jaccottet Conductor: Julien Laloux The HOLY GAMES festival aims to highlight the links that exist between sporting values and the universality of music in its diverse and plural programming, ranging from the most beautiful tunes of classical music to current reggae chords, thus offering all audiences an opportunity to discover in an original way the Eglise de la Madeleine in Paris which has just been restored .
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