Festival at the crossroads of vocal traditions from the lands of olive cultivation, particularly from the shores of the Mediterranean, the Olivier Choral Meetings were created in Coaraze in 2000 by the association Le Cadran solaire.
Each year, in August (from August 1 to 17), the Olivier Choral Meetings inspire exchanges between familiar vocal traditions and others that illustrate a musical and poetic elsewhere, between the culture of the Southern Alps and those of more distant regions.
To bring about this dimension of exchange, the public is invited to actively participate in the festival. In addition to the concerts, each significant of a vocal repertoire from the Mediterranean, the Olivier Choral Meetings include a series of workshops. These allow for the exploration of a singing tradition and the appropriation of some of its striking aspects.
Thus, the Olivier Choral Meetings 2013 will include five workshops on one hand, and six shows on the other.
WORKSHOPS
August 1-3: Hervé Loche Journey in the Mediterranean
Throughout a journey that will take us from Spain to the Middle East, this workshop will strive to provide an overview of the diversity of traditional vocal repertoires. Beyond the vast variety of this colorful journey, Hervé Loche invites us to explore the unique convergences of this cultural basin by tasting some renaissance wonders in certain visited places.
August 5-7: Véronique Warkentin Balkan Polyphonic Singing
Véronique Warkentin invites us to an approach to Balkan polyphony that, without abandoning written support, prioritizes oral transmission to pay particular attention to the different languages and their pronunciation. The workshop will allow an approach to harmonics, vocal timbres, vocal placement, and ornamentation techniques specific to the different styles. Rhythmic breath games and body percussion will enhance the physical feeling of complex, often asymmetrical rhythms that are very common in this repertoire.
August 9-11: Lucilla Galeazzi Traditional Songs of Sicily and Sardinia
The repertoires of Sicily and Sardinia share insularity but bear the mark of distinct cultures forged by a different relationship with the sea. In Sicily, a people of sailors have been open to multiple exchanges and influences with Greeks and Arabs. Sardinia, turned towards the mountains, has remained much more impervious to successive colonizations. Lucilla Galeazzi invites you to dialogue with these repertoires conveyed by profoundly different dialects.
August 12-13: Pierre Corbefin & Philippe Marsac Sung Dances of Gascony and Surroundings
Until the end of the 19th century, dancers entered the dance to the sound of their own voices. It is to this practice that restores the symbiosis between voice, gesture, and step that we invite you, on repertoires running from the Ossau Valley, to the south (chain branle) to Haut-Agenais, to the north (simple bourrée), passing through the Landes (chain round). Participants will be invited to dance to the sound of their own voices but may also indulge in singing or dancing alone.
August 16-17: Anaís Falcó & Xavier Rota Dances and Songs of Catalonia
The workshop proposes to explore, from a vocal and choreographic perspective, some typical dances from central and northern Catalonia. The ball pla and the sardana will be the main dances studied. Dancers and singers will be able to pursue coordinated work on rhythm and polyphony, characteristics of this repertoire.
CONCERTS
Bratsch Concert – August 2 – 21:00 at Coaraze – Church Square
For 40 years, the quintet Bratsch has been radiating Gypsy culture worldwide. Defying geographical and musical boundaries, the group explores as much the Slavic repertoire as that of the Yiddish “shtetls” or Greek orient. Bratsch does not just interpret; it reinvents the traditional music it explores and invites the creation of a dreamed territory where the voice of peoples shaken by history resonates.
Sarocchi – August 3 – 21:00 at Coaraze – Church Square
Sarocchi takes us on a journey to discover the treasures of traditional Corsican music, both a cappella polyphonies, secular and sacred, as well as singing accompanied by violin and cetera. Created in 1998, Sarocchi performs throughout Europe and brings to life the song of a Corsica full of humanity, poetry, and humor.
Oneira – August 7 – 21:00 at Coaraze – Church Square
Oneira is at the confluence of worlds. The group dialogues between Greek, Iranian, and Occitan traditions and poetry. Between reality and fantasy, Oneira’s music offers us a collection of musical dreams. Nourished by the real or mythified past of the cultures it invites us to encounter, Oneira’s wandering allows for the linking of traditions that shape Mediterranean civilization.
Compagnia Sacco – August 11 – 21:00 at Coaraze – Church
Founded in 1926, the Compagnia Sacco is the custodian of the vocal tradition of Ceriana, a medieval village in western Liguria. These seven male voices reveal a rich vocal heritage, both sacred and secular, reflecting very ancient polyphonic structures. Ceriana’s choral tradition is characterized by the presence of drones. This constant bass accompanies the soloists and conveys an emotion of exceptional intensity.
Duo Corbefin-Marsac Balèti – August 13 – 21:00 at Coaraze – Château Square
Gascon ball by voice. Extending their teaching experience, Pierre Corbefin and Philippe Marsac join their voices to lead an a cappella ball highlighting rondeaux, congos, branles, and jumps, without neglecting scottishs, mazurkas, or waltzes.
Duo Bruel (Anaís Falcó and Xavier Rota) Balèti – August 17 – 21:00 at Sclos de Contes
Anaís Falcó and Xavier Rota invite you to discover traditional Catalan dance. Duo Bruel will take us through this repertoire, as rich as it is engaging, by voice, accompanying themselves with violin and guitar.
