With a bunch of keys in one hand and an umbrella in the other, Murielle Genthon, director of the Maison Jean Cocteau, guides us to the entrance of the house. A 17th-century residence, built in local stone, purchased by Jean Cocteau at the age of 58: ” After filming Beauty and the Beast*, he found that a lot of people were coming to bother him, going to his house to interview him, and he needed shelter. He needed a place where he could concentrate and work, far from the hustle and bustle of Paris. The setting he found here was a setting in which he felt good*.”
“Objects change place, disappear and live their own lives” (Jean Cocteau)
« So here is the living room, the main room, which is truly characteristic of Cocteau’s taste for beautiful things, comfort, eclecticism.”. In front of us, a room appears filled with furniture and unusual objects. “ There are many objects here that recall a fantasy animal kingdom. For example, you have this crane in bronze and brass, this wooden owl, this rhinoceros leg, or even this merry-go-round horse. “. In his diary, Jean Cocteau wrote of objects “hes change places, disappear and live their own lives ».
We leave his animal collection to continue the visit and discover, upstairs, the exhibition dedicated to the links that united Cocteau to music. “ Jean Cocteau was neither a musician nor a composer, but he closely followed the musical development of the 20th century. He was first of all the leader of the Groupe des Six, these six young musicians from the Conservatoire who, in the 1920s, were looking for their way. He pushed them to make the music of their century, that is to say to forget Ravel and Debussy, whom he liked all the same, to make music that was that of their time. ».
“A place steeped in history allows the performers to be even more inhabited”
« I believe that we have few equivalents in terms of a jack-of-all-trades figure, who has such a strong link with music “. With l’ Helios setcellist Christophe Beau, also artistic director of the Belle-Île-en-Mer chamber music festival, Musical beach in Bangorn, takes part in the cycle of eight concerts, programmed by Marc-OIivier Dupin which celebrates Cocteau’s eclectic passion for music, which ranged from jazz to popular song.
The Hélios Ensemble will perform works by Fauré and Darius Milhaud, in Jean Cocteau’s garden: “A busy place allows the performers to be even more inhabited. We understand why Cocteau fell in love with this setting. The concert venue is a small courtyard, with lots of flowers, statues, flowing water, village bells, birds… It’s heavenly. »
These concerts are also a way of enlivening the place, of making it come alive, explains Murielle Genthon. “ I believe “, she says, ” that this is what Cocteau would have wanted ».
Musical Saturdays will take place until September 14, with the Ensemble Hélios concert on September 7.
Singing tour Listen later
Lecture listen 59 min
