the essential
This Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30, the Chants libres festival of the Bettencourt Schueller foundation is coming to Montauban. A great way to introduce the people of Montauban to choral art.
This weekend, choral singing will echo through the streets of the city center. The Free Chants festival of the Bettencourt Schueller foundation arrives for the first time in the city of Ingres. There will be free concerts in public spaces and a collective practice workshop. The Dulci Jubilo ensemble (“sweet joy”, Editor’s note), based in Montauban and Archipels, the vocal workshop of the Toulouse professional choir Les Éléments (made up of students and experienced amateurs), will be in Montauban to share their voice and transmit their know-how. “It’s a way of democratizing what we do,” says Christopher Gibert, composer from Lot and founder of the Dulci Jubilo chamber choir. “Thanks to the festival, we give the public the opportunity to experience choral singing.”
Singing all weekend
Several highlights are to be remembered for the weekend: on Saturday June 29, Dulci Jubilo will sing on the Allée de l’Empereur during the market from 10:30 a.m., at the Carmes cloister at 12:30 p.m. and on the square National at 3:30 p.m. At 5 p.m., the Archipels vocal workshop will give the concert “Le Cheval de Mingdao” by Vincent Ferrand in the courtyard of the Old College. Sunday June 30 at 11 a.m., Christopher Gibert will host a discovery workshop “Come and Sing” in the courtyard of the Ingres Bourdelle Museum. Finally, Dulci Jubilo will be at 5 p.m. in the museum courtyard to perform “Luminous Night” in concert. For both events at MIB, registration is free on the museum website.
The foundation is dedicated to art
Since 1989, the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation (founded in 1987 by Liliane and André Bettencourt) has been promoting choral singing by awarding prizes and funding artistic projects. “We rely on professional choirs to encourage excellence and promote choral singing,” says Hedwige Gronier, the foundation’s director of cultural patronage. The Chants Libres festival is celebrating its fourth edition in 2024 from June 28 to 30 and will take place in seven regions of France, including Occitanie. Other events are planned in Capendu and the Cité de Sorèze.
