The Advent calendar of Christmas concerts in Gironde

Sn the Place de la Comédie this Friday, December 6 at 6 p.m., the Choir of the Bordeaux National Opera will sing under the illuminations of the facade of the Grand-Théâtre, in front of passers-by. Twenty minutes of music, from French operetta to English pop, which will officially launch the Christmas concert season, in Bordeaux and elsewhere.

Because beyond the gifts, the fir trees and the garlands, the magic of the holidays is also those moments when, huddled under a blanket, on the benches of a church or in front of the stage of a community hall, we gather around a concert to come out with a head full of Christmas hits. This month of December, local choirs are going out of their way to offer a rich and varied program, of which here is a thematic selection.

Sacred Christmas: Orfeo, Choir Ladies, Pro Musica

Before “Petit Papa Noël” and “Vive le vent”, Christmas is a key moment in the Christian liturgy, for which composers throughout time have written music. For a sacred Christmas, come to Saint-Bruno Church on Friday, December 6 at 8:30 p.m., for a “Midnight Mass” by Marc-Antoine Charpentier with the Orfeo baroque ensemble. For a more romantic and modern repertoire, you will have to go to Montalivet to hear the Ladies of the Choir in a concert from Rossini to Poulenc via Verdi. Who says better? The Pro Musica choir! At the temple of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande on December 15 at 5 p.m., its festive program takes us the splits, from Bach to Duruflé, from the ancient to the modern.

Christmas of the world: Traveling choir, Choir in madness

How do we celebrate Christmas in Sweden? And in Venezuela? The answer in the eclectic repertoire of the Chœur voyageur, in concert at the Sainte-Eulalie church in Bordeaux on Friday December 6 at 8:30 p.m. and at Sainte-Marie de la Bastide on December 14, at 8:30 p.m. the Chœur en Folie concert on December 21 at 8:30 p.m., at the Saint-Delphin church in Villenave-d'Ornon. And for a touch of jazz and pop, come to the Saint-Pierre de Bègles church on December 13 at 8:30 p.m., with the aptly named “Crech'endo”.

Christmas, child's play: Petit Chanteurs de Bordeaux, Bordeaux Girls' Choir, Java Mastery

The incredible variety of choirs in Gironde, which we quickly realize here, also benefits children. To offer them an open and rich musical practice, choir director Marie Chavanel created the Young Vocal Academy of Aquitaine, in concert Saturday December 7 at 8:30 p.m. in the charming Saint-Rémi-des-Vignes church in Bacalan.

The next day, Sunday December 8 at 5 p.m., under the direction of Alexis Duffaure, the Bordeaux Girls' Choir will be in concert at the Saint-Louis des Chartrons church. Under the same direction of Alexis Duffaure, the Little Singers can be found at the Notre-Dame de Bordeaux church on December 17 at 8:30 p.m. Girls and boys will meet together at the Bordeaux cathedral on December 24 at 6 p.m., to conclude an Advent, which in Bordeaux as everywhere in Gironde, will be quite musical.

Olivier Delaunay