An Introduction An Introduction

an almost political use of pagan beliefs and ritual to support the then-current church dogma All the themes I have mentioned appear and then vanish into disuse over the course of the years according to the needs of church, beliefs, ritual, and superstition They also tend to be bound by geographic area, the use of the church buildings concerned and the wishes and intent of the dignitar y commissioning the work

There are examples of Les Anges Musiciens to be found in all manner of places of worship, var ying from the great cathedrals to small chapels Their form varies from the stone car vings above the front portal of the cathedral in Saintes, to the stained glass in the south rose window in the cathedral in Angers to the fresques painted on the vault of the nave in the Chapel in the cathedral at Le Mans They can be found as a simple painting and as wood car vings on choir stools or around the pulpit, either in the main body of a church or in a cr ypt and their placement is dependent on the religious significance intended

Whereas the Sibyls are almost always found in a set of 12, often paired with church fathers, the sons of Jacob, or another set of prominent male figures the number of Anges Musiciens, however varies widely from 5 to 20 or more, sometimes accompanied by a similar number of singer angels, who often carr y banners with their music depicted Le Mans has a whole host of Anges Musiciens and Anges Chanteurs alternating in the panels of the vault kernacléden, in Morbihan, on the other hand has only four pairs beautifully painted on the vault of the north traverse

Many examples of these fresques are painted on the vault of the nave, but examples can also be found in the side chapels and on the transverses Romanesque churches, with their small, high windows (or lack of windows) may have the walls of the nave painted –easier for viewers to see but less associated with the heavens

At Saintes, we find Les Anges Musiciens car ved in the arc of the portal of the west entrance of the cathedral In good condition for their age, they are a typical representation I miss the colours and subtlety of the paintings in these car vings but having them high above one ’ s head on entering the cathedral evokes the heavenly connection If the residual polychrome on the portal statuar y and car vings in Angers are anything to go by then angels of Saintes cathedral will also have been painted

Elsewhere, in the Cathedral of Vendôme, there is a set of four musician angels car ved in wood next to the choir stalls That they are angels and musical is beyond doubt in this case their wings and instruments being ver y visible

In Brittany, there seems to be a tendency to use wood or stone sculpting to portray both musician angels and sibyls Each era and each geographic region will have built up its own traditions

This past March, my wife and I decided to go north for a couple of days to visit Mont Saint-Michel to say goodbye to a long cold wet winter not the best time to do so actually, because it was still cold and wet, but we wanted to be able to take a hotel on the island and to avoid the summer crowds Mont SaintMichel has nothing to do with the angels as such, but we did get some good photos of the spring tide coming in and surrounding and isolating the island After wards we went on to Bayeux to see the tapestr y and to delve down into the cr ypt of the cathedral, where, I had read there are some Anges Musiciens There were, in fact, 18 of them, accompanied by Anges Chanteurs painted at the bottom of the arched vaults surmounting the sturdy pillars supporting the choir of the cathedral

All these visits have been prompted by snippets of information found here and there, one leading to the tapestr y of the apocalypse in the castle of Angers The main and dominant theme is the apocalyptic plagues of Saint John; however just like Bayeux tapestr y the Angers tapestr y has borders with a subsidiar y theme the upper border having some 50 Anges Musiciens portrayed with their instruments, their wings and flowing robes

To be continued

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