The Ninth Rencontres musicales de Vézelay invites you to undertake the journey accomplished by the composers themselves, accompanying them in their desire to serve the great figures, one midst the treasures of the palaces of sovereigns, another in the reception rooms of a princely residence, yet one more, from Rome to Leipzig, in the much sought-after chancel of a grand sacred building.

Firstly, lets bring to mind this region of the Elbe Valley where sovereigns and Saxon patrons of the beginning of the 18th century recieved numerous poets, philosophers and artists. It is there, near to Dresden, that the remarkable Harmonie Universelle ensemble conducted by Florian Deuter  and the soprano Cornelia Samuelis will share with us the passionate instrumental and vocal conversation between J.S.Bach and one of his most talented young pupils, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg.

It was once again at the court of Dresden that the Cantor wanted to serve in composing the G major Mass, a subtle parody of the BWV 179, 79 and17 cantatas; Herman Max at the head of the Rheinische Kantorei and the Das Kleine Konzert, combining it, for our greatest pleasure, with the vast oratorio of his contemporary and friend G.P. Telemann, Der Tag des Gerichts (The Day of Judgment), whose considerable dramatic force will unfold under the vaults of the Saint-Marie-Madeleine Basilica.

The prestigious ensemble The Sixteen, who, under the leadership of its founder and director Harry Christophers, has carried out for nearly thirty years the role of ambassador of Italian Renaissance masterpieces, will bring to life the musical footprints of L. Marenzio, G. P. Palestrina and G. Allegri indissolubly linked to the most illustrious of chapels, Saint Peter’s in Rome.

Uniting travel and spiritual quest, the pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostela, of which Vézelay and the surrounding region formed one of the major stages, has for a long time produced its own music. Its tones successively solemn or joyful will be restituted with authenticity and immediacy by Jean Tubéry and the La Fenice ensemble accompanied by the soprano and harpist Arianna Savall.

Then the echoes of the palaces of the Tudor royal dynasty will be brought to us by Stile Antico, saluted as best international ensemble of young artists in 2005, who will combine them with the rich Easter-time music composed by the leading representatives of the Franco-Flemish and Spanish schools of the early baroque era.

To bring thé Rencontres to an end, the artists of the Arsys Bourgogne choir will join forces with Harmonie Universelle. Four great orchestral and choral feasts will evoke for the last time the musical atmosphere of these grand sacred places spanning Europe : from Saint Thomas of Leipzig where the cantatas of J. S. Bach sounded out for the first time for eternity, visiting the Paris of the Tuileries with G.P. Telemann and that of the Concert Spirituel with J.P.Rameau, having Rome as the ultimate destination, where the young Saxon G.F.Handel makes powerful vibrancies burst out in the ample and energetic Dixit Dominus.

I will be personally happy to share with you the musical poesy of this journey during the Ninth Rencontres musicales de Vézelay.

Poesy where dreams are combined with passion.

Pierre Cao - Artistic Director
pierre.cao@rencontresmusicalesdevezelay.com
Pierre Cao' s biography

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A programme illustrating the greatest moments of the sacred repertory, in all its forms and from all eras, an organization capable of welcoming its own ‘in residence’ artists, an artistic vision largely open towards Europe, bur also to modernity…this is the signature of the Rencontres musicales de Vézelay.

This privileged moment isn’t “just another festival” in the same way that the Sainte-Marie Madeleine basilica can never be compared to any ordinary concert hall.

Magnificent and majestic, this site called for a cultural event in keeping with the message it has been delivering for the past centuries to all those who reach it: magnifying music in its most sacred sense, inventing an unique musical itinerary which favours exchange and encounter, witnessing of the fertility of exchanges between patrimony and contemporary creation. These were the foundations of the artistic project which guided us from the 1st edition, foundations which the Arsys Bourgogne choir largely made their own.

In keeping with the actions lead by the Parc du Morvan and its cultural office, at a time when the Burgundy region starts rehabilitation work on the ancient Vézelay hospices, in order to install, on a long time basis, the activities developed by our team, and at a moment when one of the most ambitious “artistic education development plans” in the country is being organized in the Yonne department, our global project really takes on a new dimension.

Open towards local life, attentive to their territory, equipped with exceptional heritage assets along with a solid artistic project, the Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay represent one of the key moments in Burgundy’s musical life and is an authentic gauge of the vitality of European vocal practices.

Patrick Bacot - Chairman

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The Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay have become, through the years, a must for lovers of vocal art, but also for an ever increasing audience, as proved by the 2007 concerts which were all performed before a full-house.

For this ninth edition the organizers are proposing music lovers to make their way through Europe, from the Renaissance to the Baroque era. The vocal and instrumental groups invited this year will take you back to relive the rich hours of courts and chapels where composers and artists dedicated their talents to serving princes and clerics.

I am pleased that the Conseil Regional is a faithful partner in this artistic event which works towards the cultural fame of our region. I would like to thank and congratulate all the artists of the Arsys Bourgogne choir and its leader Pierre Cao who are, once again, offering us the chance to hear and appreciate a rich musical and vocal repertory performed and conducted by celebrated artists.

I wish you an exellent Festival and a good stay in Burgundy.

François Patriat - Chairman Conseil Régional de Bourgogne

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The Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay has become, over the years, a must in the cultural life of our department. This ninth edition corresponds to the age of maturity, and, I dare say, the age of consecration.

Their fame now spreads beyond all frontiers and I insist on keenly congratulating the organizers who, for nearly ten years, have worked incessantly to always privilege quality.

I consider that any society which didn’t make a place for music or culture, would build on sand or, in the least, only on the present. In doing so, by doing it the easy way, we let a part of ourselves be swept away by the wind.  
                                                                                                    
Sacred music is vital. It is the mother of all music. That is, I believe, the message of the 2008 edition of the Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay.
I would like to defend that message with all those who carry the event with energy and dynamism.

The programme scheduled this year is impressive. It proves to us, if needs be, that sacred music has texture, an open identity, generous and moving.

That it has its own energy, imagination, breathing, intensity, which mean that each time we listen to it, we become even nearer to our own dreams.

There is, in these Rencontres Musicales, a tireless quest of curiosity, of desire, of the want to open new ways, in a spirit of independence, of liberty and risk.

I don’t doubt for a moment that the 2008 edition will be a huge success. And this success will be due to the high standards of the organizers and the artist’s talents; so much as it has been in the past thanks to the long chain of talents which have preceded them.

Jean-Marie Rolland
Member of Parliament of Yonne / Chairman of Conseil Général de l'Yonne

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