Organ Festival: Alençon Basilica and Sées Cathedral resonate all summer long

It is an event intended to “magnify” the organs of the Sees Cathedral and some basilica of Alençonrestored in 2008 and 2016 respectively.

Yes, yes Organ Festival changes its name (it was still called Festival of Sacred Music in 2023), the 16^e edition, which starts on Sunday June 30, does not change its format: nine concertsone every Sunday in the summer, recognized organists in France and abroad and various repertoires.

A concert, a different show

There we will hear Jean-Sébastien Bach, “the father of organists”, according to Thibault Bitschéné, organist of Sées Cathedral and president of the Jean-de-Bernières association, but also less recognizable compositions.

Each organist comes with a different program and brings his or her specificities

Some regulars will recognize organists such as Thomas Pellerin or Emmanuel Hocde, who have already passed through Orne.

Everyone will discover newcomers like Caroyln Craig, who arrives straight fromEngland. “We have made it a practice to bring in an English organist for several years. This allows us to open up to new repertoires, sometimes even to the use of very different sounds,” explains Thibault Bitschéné.

Two exceptional organs

With so many talentscoming from “the four corners” of the country, the organizing associations intend to “show that the organ is an instrument in its own right, far from being dedicated solely to mass”.

Having two organs of this quality close to home is a blessing!

The free remains in place because “it is the best way to make the organ as accessible as possible”.

A way, too, to attract as many new audiences as possible. Each concert attracts between 150 and 200 people in the Alençon and Sagien buildings.

The event is co-organized by the Jean de Bernières association, from Sées, and by the Friends of the Orgues of Alençon.

The complete program

• Sunday June 30, 2024: At the Alençon basilica: Yves Lafargue, tenured at the Notre-Dame-de-Fourvière basilica and professor at the Lyon conservatory (Rhône). On the program: Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly, Jean-Sébastien Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and personal compositions.
• Sunday July 7, 2024: At Sées Cathedral: Thomas Pellerin, tenured at Saint-Maurice Cathedral and professor at the Angers Conservatory (Maine-et-Loire). On the program: César Franck, Louis Vierne, Antonín Dvořák…
• Sunday July 14, 2024: At the basilica of Alençon: Véronique Le Guen, assistant professor at Saint-Séverin (Paris) and deputy director of the Academy of Sacred Arts of Sainte-Anne d’Auray (Morbihan). On the program: Nicolaus Bruhns, Jean-Sébastien Bach, Clara Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy…
• Sunday July 21, 2024: At Sées Cathedral: Carolyn Craig, deputy director of music at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Welss (Somerset) and professor at Westminster Abbey. On the program: Jean-Sébastien Bach, Marcel Dupré, Louis Vierne, Maurice Duruflé…
• Sunday July 28, 2024: At the basilica of Alençon: David Hirst, tenured at the Notre-Dame collegiate church of Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines). On the program: Jean-Sébastien Bach, Niccolò Paganini, Charles-Marie Widor…
• Sunday August 4, 2024: At the Sées Cathedral: Emmanuel Hocde, professor at Saint-Éloi (Paris 12th), at the Laval Cathedral (Mayenne) and professor at the Mantes Conservatory. On the program: Jean-Sébastien Bach, César Franck, Auguste Fauchard, Louis Vierne and personal compositions.
• Sunday August 11, 2024: At the Basilica of Alençon: Marion André, musical director of the Plateau de Saclay Symphony Orchestra and the Fabrique Opéra (Aisne). On the program: Clara and Robert Schumann, Elsa Barraine, Jehan Alain…
• Sunday August 18, 2024: At the cathedral of Sées: Thibault Bitschéné with Daniel Catalanotti and Gilles Bertocchi. Organ, harmony chorus (of the Paris Orchestral Ensemble) and choir of the Alps. On the program: Georg Friedrich Haendel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Vincent d’Indy, Charles-Marie Widor, Fanny Hensel…
• Sunday August 25, 2024: At the Basilica of Alençon: Yves Cuenot, professor at the Saint-Bénigne Cathedral and professor at the Dijon Conservatory (Côte-d’Or). On the program: Claude Balbastre, Jean-Sébastien Bach, Max Reger, Laurent Coulomb and personal compositions.

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