Music

ummertime oundtracks

HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT EVERY SEASON HAS ITS SOUNDTRACK?

With each change in the natural world around us, we see, feel and especially hear things differently, related to the changes in the temperature, the changing aspect of the countryside around us and how much of our day is spent outdoors, making the most what each season has to offer. Music is such a big part of how we experience the seasonal changes, and one of the best times in the year to tune in to your inner soundtrack is the summer! This feeling of connection we have between music and summer is a long standing one. One of the earliest examples of a written piece of music, dating from between 1261-1264, about a hundred years before Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales', is the beautiful song 'Sumer is icumen in', translating approximately to 'Summer has arrived' or also known as 'The Cuckoo Song'. (I would recommend listening to the song recorded by the fantastic 'Hilliard Ensemble' for a taste of medieval summer music!) Every culture seems to have its own response and celebration of the arrival of summer, usually in the form of a festival. 'Bealtaine' (or 'May Festival') is the big Celtic festival beginning on May 5th, when the dark half of the year ends and the bright half of the year begins, and is celebrated with music and bonfires, marking an ancient time of purification and transition and heralding in the summer with the hope of a good harvest later in the year. (I still have great memories of the summer music festival of 'Bealtaine' in Ireland with my family and when I hear the 'Afro Celt Sound System', it takes me right back to that time!) Memory and music are so interconnected for us all, they can be a way of re-living our best experiences as well as making us feel more connected to the world around us. We all feel and respond to music differently - we pick certain pieces to be our favourites and we often associate them with the memory of a time of year. Sometimes we feel an instant connection to a piece of music that we’ve never heard before, but which quickly becomes an old friend. Many composers have tapped into this feeling and particularly music's capacity to capture a moment of sound in time. Vivaldi’s well-loved 'Four Seasons' has been described as a tone-painting literally painting a picture in sound! This extraordinary journey through the seasons

Lucy moved with her family to the Vienne region in 2018. An orchestral violinist in Dublin for many years, she now By Lucy Perkins plays in chambermusic ensembles based in Tours and teaches the violin both privately and in schools in Poitiers and Montmorillon

Poezyk, combining Slam Poetry and Baroque music. Right: Playing the classic ‘Will You’ in concert with Hazel O’Connor who performs regularly in France

recalls all the familiar sights and sounds of musical events up close and personal, outcomes! Last summer I had an nature and gives them musical life - from especially in France. Besides the glorious opportunity to play chamber-music the dawn chorus of birds in the spring to weather and the beautiful countryside, one concerts that were specifically designed for the still lazy feeling a summer afternoon, of the main attractions of France in smaller audiences, in beautiful venues that whose stifling heat is broken only by a summertime has become the 'Fête de la made the most of the summer evenings. violent summer storm. (I think that Musique'. This music festival first took For me, a particular highlight was to anyone living in this region of France has place in Paris in 1982, when the Minister perform Renaissance and Baroque experienced that music first-hand!) of Culture had the idea of bringing people music in the wonderful 12th century Though arguably now one of the most out into the streets to play and listen to church in Thollet with its recently popular pieces of classical music ever, it is music. Since then, it has grown hugely in uncovered frescoes, with my colleagues all the more remarkable for having lain popularity, spreading throughout France from Tours, all on original instruments. forgotten on a library and eventually The programme ranged from Josquin desshelf for more than two becoming a Prés to Marin Marais to Bach. We’re hundred years! It was There’s really nothing like worldwide festival. hoping to do similar concerts in Tholletnot until 1950, when a recording of the Four Seasons gained notice, that its popularity began to soar and experiencing live music in all its styles and forms, and there is so much of this to look forward Now June 21st is celebrated by concerts and events of live music in 700 cities and in over 120 and Montmorillion (both in 86) this August and still get to celebrate the summer with some live music, albeit on a smaller scale! continues to do so to countries, where For me, there’s really nothing like this day. music performances are free and available experiencing live music in all its styles and Though my favourite recording - full of originality as well as stunning virtuosity is that of violinist Fabio Biondi directing the Europa Galante ensemble, the work of Max Richter and his 'Recomposition of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons' is well worth a listen. This imaginative and fresh take on an old classic blends contemporary classical and alternative popular music styles, sometimes meeting in to all. Today, as nobody needs reminding, we are in need of this kind of experience more than ever. Since the Covid pandemic hit, it has been necessary for everybody to reinvent our connection to music, including our approach to live music and the way it is now presented to us. But change isn't always a bad thing! Though concert halls all over the world have had to close their forms, and there is so much of this to look forward to in France this summer. Is there anything nicer than wandering around your local town or city, in the sunshine, being surrounded by live music in parks, churches and on the streets... perhaps even an apéro thrown in along the way! There should be enough music around us this season in France to suit everyone’s taste. Or maybe the best unconventional ways! It mightn’t be to doors, live online concerts have been an soundtrack to summer still belongs to everyone’s taste, but is so atmospheric amazing resource to tap into. (Check out nature, entertaining us as much now as it and evocative of the natural world all Igudesman & Joo live-stream concerts or did back in the 1300s! around us that I think Vivaldi would the BBC Music Magazine livestream “Summer is a-comin in, have approved. calendar, among many others). Loudly Sing Cuckoo! At no time is music and the outdoor life Likewise, the style of musical events and The seed grows and the meadow blooms, celebrated more than in the summer, their venues have also undergone change, and the wood springs anew, when we have a chance to experience but sometimes with really positive Sing Cuckoo!”

Despite the toll that the Covid pandemic has taken on our cultural life here in France, music festivals and associated musical events will be taking place in our region this summer. Though there will be some restrictions in terms of numbers and sanitary protocols, the department of the Vienne are going ahead with festivals such as 'Les Heures Vagabondes' in various locations throughout the Vienne. This is a fantastic free festival that epitomises the carefree nature of summer music festivals and has been allocated a budget of €200,000 to provide concerts with a huge variety of sounds including trad, folk, rock and world music, providing entertainment for all ages and tastes. This summer, in the town of Montmorillon, there will be a series of outdoor concerts under the banner of 'Un été autrement, 2021' featuring free music events ranging in style from classical to jazz. Towns like Le Blanc and Chatellerault (with its brilliantly named jazz festival 'Jazzellerault') are also likely to provide music events, depending on the

restrictions. It's also worth keeping an eye on the events calendars in the various neighbouring departments such as Indre, Vienne and Haute Vienne - bearing in mind that it tends to be difficult to get centralised information and the best way not to miss out on events is to check each department's event guide separately. Saint-Benoit du Sault, described as one of the prettiest towns in France, runs a fantastic Baroque festival with some other classical music concerts based around the recently restored cathedral and the picturesque town ramparts. One of the best and most inspirational musical events I have been to in France is held every summer under the banner of 'Résonance de Gartemps'. This group unites five music associations - Figaro Si Figaro La, Le Festival Musique et Patrimoine en Vienne, Le Festival Les Chaises Musicales les Vicq sur Gartemps, Le Festival des Lumières de Montmorillon and La Ferme de Villefavard. It is worth checking out whether these festivals are going ahead in your local area, either online or in person in the relevant mairie. A good place to start is the festival 'Musique et Patrimoine en Vienne' which is happening this summer in the beautiful UNESCO world heritage town of SaintSavin. It will feature an impressive line-up of artists of the highest calibre, performing a series of varied and exciting programmes ranging from a violin, guitar and flamenco dance ensemble and a cello/piano duo collaboration with tango dancers, to more traditional violin/piano and flute/piano recitals.

One of the best and most inspirational musical events I have been to in France is held every summer under the banner of 'Résonance de Gartemps'