{"id":2149,"date":"2015-09-30T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T06:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harpblog.info\/?p=2149"},"modified":"2017-06-29T07:34:13","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T07:34:13","slug":"first-harpes-en-loire-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.camac-harps.com\/blog\/en\/uncategorized\/first-harpes-en-loire-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"First “Harpes en Loire” Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Harpes<\/a>We are delighted to be sponsoring a new initiative from\u00a0Fran\u00e7ois Pernel<\/a>, with whom we have recently collaborated to create our Excalibur<\/a> harp, and Aude Fortict. Fran\u00e7ois teaches in Chemill\u00e9, Juign\u00e9 and Brissac, all in the Loire Valley in France, and he had had the idea of a festival running through his mind for a while: “I have been living in the Loire Valley for the last five years. Before this,\u00a0whenever I drove through the region, I would say to myself what a beautiful place it is, and how much I’d like to live there. Finally, this happened! And while I was out walking along\u00a0the River Loire, I started to dream\u00a0of a festival. I organised a few smaller concerts, and discovered incredible places and a great deal of enthusiasm. I wanted to reveal the different facets of the harp to local audiences, and hoped that the idea would catch on throughout the region. For harpists, I wanted a calm, friendly, sincere\u00a0festival, all qualities Aude Fortict and I value greatly.”<\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7ois and Aude Fortict met during the Harpe en Aquitaine<\/a>\u00a0project in\u00a0Marmande, and they are working together\u00a0on the organisation of Harpes en Loire. “Aude teaches at the Agen and Marmande conservatoires, and I was invited to play there with Oak Ink. We stayed in touch, and realised that we both thought the same way – something along the lines of “I have an idea – OK – and the word ‘impossible’ does not exist!”. I admire how Aude communicates about the harp,\u00a0with such intelligence and commitment. We have subsequently developed a really nice collaboration together, also involving her students. We’ve recorded an album of my harp ensemble compositions, this year we’ll run an exchange between the Loire Valley and Aquitaine harp classes, and I am writing pieces for their exams.”<\/p>\n

One of our festival’s objectives is to put the harp at the centre of regional life, by marking\u00a0the year with musical events. This is also why the first festival is happening across three sets of dates. “On the concert side, this stops us going overboard – you can have too much of a good thing. Sometimes festivals can be like stuffing yourself with too much food! I prefer to chew slowly, and digest easily!”, says Fran\u00e7ois Pernel. “We want to offer our audiences some agreeable cultural life, gently punctuated by the sweet sounds of the harp…”<\/p>\n

Harpes en Loire will feature\u00a0several concerts. On October 17th, Fran\u00e7ois Pernel and Aude Fortict will perform in pedal harp duo. \u00a0Then,\u00a0Tristan Le Govic<\/a>\u00a0will take to the stage on October 18th, with a concert of Scandinavian and Celtic music. The second festival weekend will follow on January 15th, 2016. It will begin with a concert of Irish music, and the following day\u00a0Mariannig Larc\u2019hantec<\/a>\u00a0will guide us into the universe of Breton legend. Finally, at the start of April, Fran\u00e7ois’s world music trio\u00a0Galexya<\/a> (harp, percussion and diverse other instruments) will perform, followed by\u00a0Ma\u00ebl Lhopiteau<\/a>, who will present his own compositions, and his personal approach to traditional music.<\/p>\n

It is a rich, eclectic programme, full of the harp’s multifaceted possibilities and identities, be they “classical” or “Celtic”, pedal or lever. Incidentally, for all that the featured artists are those we are used to hearing on the lever harp, Fran\u00e7ois emphasises that “the festival is open to all types of harp. Wearing my composer’s hat, what I write dictates\u00a0my\u00a0choice of harp. Usually, it’s true that for me that means the lever harp, but for all that I’m not showing pedal harps or any\u00a0other harps the door! Our first concert is going to be a pedal harp duo. Personally, I think pedal and lever harp are two different instruments in their own right. They have their own, different repertoire, techniques and sounds. I like to see them share a stage, which validates\u00a0their respective uses – and new timbres, new colours and new works. The idea that underlies\u00a0all our\u00a0programming is to find…those who are looking!<\/p>\n

As part of this aim, we also want to run a composition contest in a future edition of the festival. We will\u00a0be able to offer workshop participants\u00a0music for pedal and lever harp, harp ensemble, and new music. We’ll start by teaching everything aurally, but we’ll give scores out at the end, to those who want to have them. Aural and reading methods should not be\u00a0against each other, but rather complement each other.”<\/p>\n

The festival is expressly pedagogic in character. Every festival weekend, course participants will be divided into two groups (beginners and more advanced). They will work with Aude and Fran\u00e7ois, and with an invited artist who will teach a two-hour session for each group. Participants will also be able to get to grips with harp ensemble pieces, composed or arranged by the teachers, across\u00a0a broad variety of styles of music and ways to write for the harp. It is possible to sign up for one, two or all three courses. “Each course runs from Saturday to Sunday, from 9:30 AM to 6PM. This includes lunch on Saturday, and all\u00a0concerts over the same weekend. On Sunday, a local bakery is going to supply delicious bread, so bring whatever you want to spread on it, and share around!”<\/p>\n

The choice of guest artists also reflects Fran\u00e7ois and Aude’s desire for a warm, straightforward approach. For the first festival, these will be:\u00a0Tristan\u00a0Le\u00a0Govic (professor of harp in Saint-Brieuc), Mariannig Larc’hantec (teacher and composer), and Ma\u00ebl Lhopiteau (concert artist and composer). “I’ve invited people with whom it is easy and fun to work! I have worked\u00a0with\u00a0Ma\u00ebl Lhopiteau and\u00a0Mariannig Larc’hantec before, when I was less established.\u00a0This is also a way to thank them for what they have done for me in the past. As for Tristan Le Govic, we got to know each other this summer. As well as being friends, all three guest artists are composers and arrangers too. So they belong to the festival’s spirit.”<\/p>\n

Here, again, the fact that the festival happens in three parts is important. “Last year, we organised a course on a smaller scale. When we collected feedback, the pupils – especially the adult pupils – suggested having a basic course, with a follow-up. Three sessions allow those who wish it to practise between the weekends, and particularly for the closing concert which will take place on April 3rd. This concert, by the course participants, will consist of everything that will have been learnt and worked on during all three courses. It will mostly feature ensemble pieces, but also solos that will have been prepared as part of this.”<\/p>\n

There isn’t long to go now before the first weekend! Don’t miss the start of Harpes en Loire, this coming 17th and 18th of October!<\/p>\n

For further information and to sign up, please contact Fran\u00e7ois Pernel: +33 6 09 80 14 26, association.laharpelibre@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t