Editorial by the President
Trees, animals, men and women, whether gatherers or hunters, shepherds and shepherdesses… all have been a source of inspiration for poets and musicians since the dawn of time. These artists have sung of a world sometimes bountiful, sometimes cruel, seeking to find out the meaning of it in a relationship with a deity.
For the 2024 programme on the theme of “Baroque Pastorales”, Gaël de Kerret has drawn on the abundant repertoire of works that celebrate the earth and its beauties or the loves of shepherds, or works that praise God or voice men’s great existential fears. For more, I refer you to his editorial.
Drawing on mythology, the festival poster shows a medallion of the goddess Aurora courting the shepherd Tithonus whom the goddess so wished she could make immortal. Quite a symbol!
Incidentally, it is worth noticing that the village of Valloire and its church offer a perfect setting for the Pastorales baroques”, in a land of agro-pastoralism!
In line with our commitment to music education, our programme again includes a “cultural bridge” show with Corpus Fantasticus, a creation that combines Baroque music and circus arts. There will be a performance at Valloire, then at Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne where children trained in a workshop will join in the show. To top it all, the artists will be running a “music and acrobatics” workshop open to children and adults alike during the festival week.
A few words on La Traverse (the Off)
Now an absolute must-attend event, the Valloire enchanté concert will again bring together amateur choristers from all walks of life. They will perform pieces of secular polyphony entitled Au c(h)oeur de la nuit as well as Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, an iconic work from the Baroque repertoire, in a version for choir.
A surprise provided by the 2024 Traverse is the addition of an activity proposed by the “Chorale Kilométrique”, a group of amateur choristers from all over the Maurienne: a Sing along walk up and down the paths around Valloire, with a performance in the village. Festival singers and hikers take note and join in this invigorating activity!
It remains for me to thank all those who, every year, make the festival a success: artists, festivalgoers, sponsors, the elected officials who endorse our funding, with the Commune de Valloire top of the list, the clergy, and all the volunteers, association leaders, hoteliers, accommodation providers… whose contribution is paramount.
Dominique Longchamp, President of Amis du Festival Valloire baroque, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
Dominique Longchamp
In 2009, Dominique Longchamp brought together the founding team of the Festival Valloire baroque, a project whose main lines he had devised.The team, about twenty persons, either native of Valloire or “adopted”, rapidly evolved into an organizing team, managed, year after year, since the first season of the festival in 2010, by the initiator of the project. Today, strengthened by the cohesion and harmony of their team, the organizers are increasingly skilled in the tricks of their “trade”. They are proud to receive messages of encouragement, such as that of a Savoyard politician :“I congratulate you for the quality of the work you have achieved to promote this wonderful event that does honour to the cultural programme of the Maurienne valley." Dominique Longchamp is Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.
