In summer the Dordogne comes alive with music and cultural activities - so much so that it is impossible to attend even a fraction of what is available. Last Saturday the street theatre came to
Lalinde with a quality performance in the village square that would have drawn crowds in Broadway. A simple story told through music and song, characters on ten-foot high stilts and on mono-cycles, fairy lights and fire eaters, jugglers and contortionists. A veritable feast for the eye and the soul!
More food for the soul on Sunday night when three young local men performed to far too few in the
Lalinde church -- a magnificent accoustical venue in which to present the
combination of organ and two trumpets. Bach at his spine chilling best and Purcell to die for!
Last night I attended the second of three music recitals in the achingly beautiful
Abbey church in Paunat.
This church in Paunat is one of a handful of churches in the area that was consecrated in the first millennium - namely in 991 -- but its construction dates back even further --- to 804. Again, the natural stone and uneven surfaces of the very high walls, provided a perfect accoustical chamber for any music, and the gleaming black Bechstein looked quite at home in the soft golden glow of the cherch last night.
Roger Muraro was the pianist who regaled us with his lively and animated interpretation of Mozart, Liszt and Chopin. Muraro is best know for his mastery of Messianen's work, and as this composer was so strongly influenced by the delicacy and refined harmonic work of Chopin, it is probably not surprising that Muraro was able to present a fresh and different approach to Chopin's Funereal Sonata opus 25 and the ever-delightful Andante spianato et Grande Polonaire. The last time I had heard this piece was in the open air of Chopin Park in Warsaw and at the time I thought one should never play this piece in any other setting. Hearing it again last night in the ancient abbey church of Paunat, made me change my mind on that one!
Reading up on Muraro was interesting -- almost everything written about him all over the world is positive and complimentary -- especially where it concerns his knowledge and expertise in Messianen's work, but for his interpretation of Chopin, Liszt and his vaast repertoire of other work as well -- that is -- everything and everywhere -- except in the British press.
We also suffered from Roger Muraro, a pianist known in Britain only for having his past Ravel recordings purloined for use under Joyce Hatto’s name in that sad hoax. One might brush off Muraro’s metallic lamé jacket as a
French eccentricity. Far harder to excuse the thumping dullness of his Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand., writes Geoff Brown on Muraro's preformance at the Proms at the Albert Hall last week. Listening to the Brits in the audience last night -- all distinctly dressed in their English-in-the-french-countryside uniform of pale pastel
linens for the women and the obiquitous jumper-over-the-shoulders for the men -- I could not help but wonder whether they had all done their homework before the recital and read the same Geoff Brown crit in The Times of last week. Almost the exact words were heard - sounding oh so knowledgeable and erudite, but with nowhere a reference, acknowledgement or a quotation mark in evidence. I shuddered and for a moment thought I had landed back in the counties amongst the Landrover, cashmere and Harrow/Charter House coterie. But how could that have been? Never in Surrey or any of the shires did we enjoy this kind of cultural feast and this quality and variety of entertainment and enjoyment as the French are so good at offering! I was so tempted to mutter out loud the lovely Robert Auden observation about the Brits ---
Let us honour if we can
The vertical man,
Though we value none
But the horizontal one.
Tonight I join a group of friends for a completely different experience -
A Blues and Gospel evening in the main market square of the beautiful medieval bastide town of
Monpazier -- and Monday night it is back to
Paunat for a magical evening of six of the best cellists in France, performing together under the masterful direction of Roland Pidoux.
Could anything be more beautiful than an ensemble of 6 cellos? -- Let's hear what the Brits have to criticise there!....
Oh -- and forget not to come join us this weekend in Lalinde for the Annual Wine Fair as well as the musical street party on Saturday night! -- and remember to bring your own cutlery and crockery!See you there!
Click on Link:
Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event
Relocation Orientation in France
