August: Les Musicales de Normandie

Leaving Aix-les-Bains

and we arrived 700 or so kilometers later in the Cathedral City of Rouen for a concert the next night.

We were looking forward to performing in this magnificent Cathedral which is the kind of setting for which some of our earlier music was written. The sound just goes into the air and suspends itself there. We didn't hear it that way, but we're told that's what happened!

The intermittent rain didn't keep people away!

Les Musicales de Normandie is quite a new festival; obviously it has already developed a wonderful audience.
We leave tomorrow for Poland for our first ever performances there. Eric has been in 30 countries in his Chanticleer career- Poland will be the 31st. China will be the 32nd. Hard to imagine right now, but we'll be there for the first time in May, in Suzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing. There will be a patron tour accompanying us - in case any of you might be interested in that forthcoming adventure.

August: Musique et Nature en Bauges

With the unpredicability of the weather with which France has been afflicted this summer, the day in the Ardeche started out pouring. We run for the overpass to the restaurant for lunch on the auto route.

Today's athletic event: contact Frisbee

The sun came out as we came upon the Massif des Bauges.

You can see our hotel in Aix-les bains behind the Marina on the Lac Bourget...From the southern beauty of Labeaume to this - amazing!. The consensus is that every corner of France is beautiful.

What can we say? There was a regatta for children in progress when we arrived. We took advantage of the sunny moment to walk and run along the lake.

The Eglise du Chatelard is a 40 minute drive through the monumentally beautiful Savoie countryside - verdant valleys surrounded by the Massif des Bauges. By the time we arrived, clouds were gathering and it poured just before the concert.

Once it was full, the church had a beautiful resonant sound which we enjoyed. The audience was quiet and attentive and then very vociferous in its approval. As with other places in France, the moment of intense complicity with the audience during Poulenc's "Quatre petites prieres de St. Francois d'Assise" will be something we long remember. In order to realize the festival's theme of Music and Nature we adapted our program, including the European premiere of Janika Vandervelde's "All Things Resounding." We introduced this work last fall; it was commissioned for us by the Jerome Foundation in memory of Maud Hill Schroll who was a great lover of nature. It was an all -time record night for us at the CD table - we're now completely out of many titles. Another very special evening.

The Mayor of the Commune of Le Chatelard toasts us at a dinner after the concert. We had sausages and potatoes gratin, and Tome des bauges with the mayor and mayors of other villages in the commune, the Director of the great Parc Naturel Regional du Massif des Bauges (which we didn't have time to see this time), and the volunteers of the festival.

August: LaBeaume en Musique

We are in the Ardeche, after a spectacular bus ride from the Correze, through the Auvergne and the Puy de Dome.
And, finally, it's hot and sunny!

The regional products get our attention!

The Chanticleer Olympics continue. ( See Lessay to Pompadour for gymnastic events.)

Our Hotel, Les Persedes, wins the Prix Chanticleer for the best pizza in the world

LaBeaume is a small village on the river of the same name which joins the Ardeche River in the famously beautiful Ardeche Gorges nearby. After our rather large bus was maneuvered into the village, this was our first view of the Eglise de LaBeaume where we will perform for the Festival LaBeaume en Musique.

The view from our 'dressing room.'

The plaza in front of the church has an outdoor restaurant and lots of life.

Warm up in the church, which was restored in the mid-l9th century, and holds about 300 people.

Arriving in the plaza to begin the performance.

The church doors were open for a few minutes at the beginning and again for the encore, which attracted curious passers-by.

The church was packed and very intimate. As always, it seems, in France, there was an enthusiastic public who love music but had not necessarily encountered this kind. A joyous discovery, many of them said. CD's flew off the table.

A delicious dinner outdoors was offered us after the performance. We returned to our hotel late but very happy to be in this part of France, on a beautiful day.

August: Festival de la Vezere

We stayed in Pompadour, in the Correze, where the Chateau was home to the Marquise de Pompadour. The Mayor of Pompadour greets us before our visit to the Chapelle St. Blaise.

St. Blaise is the Saint who looks out for throats, so it was probably a good idea to pay a visit. This Chapel (formerly of the Marquise de Pompadour) re-opened two months ago restored with a massive mural on canvas by Andre Brasilier.

There is an Haras National ( horse breeding farms belonging to the French government) in Pompadour which happened to be showing off its stallions the day we were there.

The 12-14th century church of Arnac where we performed, a short and beautiful ride from Pompadour. A great thing about summer festivals all over Europe is that we can see the countryside, and not just the big cities.

The enthusiasm and curiosity of the French audiences is always very rewarding. We performed in this festival last summer, and were happy to see people we recognized.

August: Lessay to Pompadour (775km by bus)