The Rocamadour Festival is part of the long artistic tradition that inhabits the Rocamadour cliff, from the rock caves to the medieval city, passing through the spiritual and artistic shock experienced by Francis Poulenc, who was deeply moved upon crossing the chapel’s threshold one summer day in 1936.
A heritage that is both monumental and immaterial comes to life today in a dialogue between the vertiginous beauty of the site and the music written by mankind. Far from a standard classical concert, Rocamadour profoundly renews the experience of music and art. Created in 2006 by a group of music lovers, and directed since 2013 by Emmeran Rollin, it welcomes 10,000 spectators who come to attend nearly 35 concerts during the second half of August.
Rocamadour – Sacred Music invents a repertoire that is both spiritual and open to all, driven by the vision of an art that elevates us, featuring religious works as well as symphonies, concertos, and chamber music… Ensembles such as Le Concert Spirituel (Hervé Niquet, another partner of the Etrillard Foundation), Le Concert des Nations (Jordi Savall), the Compagnie La Tempête, the English choir Tenebrae, as well as renowned soloists like Renaud Capuçon, Philippe Jaroussky, Anne Queffélec, and Alexandre Tharaud have all come together around this project. These artists are, in turn, captivated by the unique grace of these concerts, where the spiritual beauty of the surroundings resonates with that of the music.
The 18th edition of the Festival is centered on the universal value of fraternity. Rocamadour, a pilgrimage route for a millennium and a major tourist destination, is a symbol of encounters between people, whether they are music lovers, vacationers, local Lot residents, or artists. The concerts at the Foot of the City (Pied de la Cité) make the Festival’s reputation during three exceptional evenings, with the millennial city as a backdrop.
The Etrillard Foundation is supporting the Beethoven Evening on August 24, 2023, featuring Renaud Capuçon on the violin and conducting the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. Having fallen under Rocamadour’s spell, Renaud Capuçon’s appearance is the Festival’s unmissable event.
The Lausanne Chamber Orchestra conducted by Renaud Capuçon, September 14, 2021 © Yuri Tavares
« Firma spes ut rupes », hope as firm as the rock. The theme of this 19th edition of the Rocamadour Festival is Hope, this strength that has sustained this medieval village throughout the centuries.
The Foundation will support the Leçons de Ténèbres concert, featuring works by François Couperin and Marc-Antoine Charpentier on the program. At the end of Louis XIV’s reign, France was a land of piety, but also of Italian influence in music, including religious music. Vocality and spirituality are artfully combined there, bearing witness to the refinement of beautiful French singing practiced as much in salons and theaters as in places of worship.
Florie Valiquette and Marie Lys, jewels of the young generation of sopranos, resurrect this musical miracle under the direction of Chloé de Guillebon, alongside the Royal Opera of Versailles Orchestra.