Come on...
it's the home strait before the third millennium!

By Dominique Dubreuil

In accordance with Pythagorus' predictions on the harmony of spheres, supplemented and corrected by the hypotheses of Erik Satie, Plumart/Music is able to announce that nothing really annoying will happen during the changeover. Possibly a small lack of listening comfort in the you-know-which night, but that really is all! So you may head calmly out to a concert without any qualms; it will not be the irrevocable last.

IN THE BAROQUE  IDIOM, the next big thing is still the Festival du Vieux Lyon (FMVL), now located in the classical-baroque centre of the city-centre Peninsula (Chapelle de la Trinité), and even inn the great spaceship that is the Auditorium.

The latter venue (which is coproducer) will host the Missa Solemnis, one of the summits of sacred art: the performance takes on all its character — dramatic, architectural and philosophical — with Philippe Herreweghe, one of the great Baroque exponents of the second generation who still struggled to gain recognition, and who are now establishing a sort of condominium beyond their frontiers of their initial territory.
Over in the 16th century, the Renaissance long stricken through scarcity of performance is revisited by one of the revival ensembles, "Clément Jannequin", which offers food for the ears and mind. Its leader Dominique Visse, incidentally, is a habitué of the opera stage. And to echo its interest, the ensemble directed by D. Vellard and Bernard Têtu's soloists are singing "Les romantiques fascinés par la Renaissance".

The 17th century is revisited in one its special places — Carissimi's "Histoires Sacrées" — by Le Concert de l'Hostel-Dieu (F.E.Comte), while the 18th is "shared" between the highly renowned Musiciens du Louvre (cond. M. Minkowski, singing Italian cantatas) and the "new faces" of the Baroque Collegia (performing Bach senior and junior) and Matheus (Vivaldi). Not forgetting the Orthodox preface that hails from the banks of the Neva (cond.Youri Gourbo), and the Ensemble de la Primatiale Saint-Jean (cond. J .F.Duchamp) in Mozart's small Baroque mass (K.192).

From 5th to 21st December. Tel. 04 78 39 09 09

Translated by Paul Jones

Photos: Ph. Herreweghe (M.Garnier), J.Bowman (E. Larrayadieu), B. Tétu (C.Ganet), J-C.Spinosi (D.Olivré)