"Festillésime 41" Festival (France)

If you come as a tourist to visit the town of Blois, you must attend the Music Festival "Festillésime 41" owing to the cultural policy of the General Council of the Loir-et-Cher region where concerts take place in old churches or castles where the sound of music and kind atmosphere of concerts are welcome. You may discover Musica 5 "Le Quintette de Loire" which, since June 2011, is composed of musicians teaching Music in the Conservatory of Blois. So you may hear the rarely performed "Sonata a quattro" n°1 for strings by Rossini (1804), the Quintet "The Trout" for strings and piano by Schubert (1819) and the "Petite Suite pour cordes et piano" op.13 by the French composer Maurice Journeau (1929). By Cathy Cousin (piano), François Goic (violin), Luc Balestro (viola & violin), Vincent Daguet (cello),Sarah Quatrehomme (contrabass).

On September 22nd, 2012, at 8.30 p.m in Montlivault's Church.

Further information,Booking: 02. 54. 20. 62.18

Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) is particularly well-known for his operas. He was the young director of the Naples Opera-house, then the first composer of he French King Charles X... and nowadays his "Petite Messe solennelle" remains very famous too. Yet, in spite of great success, he grew doubtful about his musical possibilities when 37 years of age. So his health turned bad with a nervious disease. The "Sei Sonate a quattro" for two violins, cello and contrabass - among which the first one will be performed - early announced his genius as a composer. They were the work of a boy only 12 years old, intended for his friend and patron Agostino Triossi who played the contrabass on the first performance. However, they are fully achieved and their violinistic parts require great skill.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) belongs to the same musical period as Rossini. Yet he had a shorter life...And contrarily to Rossini, he kept apart from the official musical circles. He remained a bachelor surrounded by a small group of friends in Vienna, composing a very fine, delicate music full of intimacy whatever be its musical forms. Very often Schubert's chamber music originates in its "lieder" just as "The Trout", a work giving birth to a transcription of his own for the piano. This Quintet was composed in 1817 when Schubert was 22 years old. It was his unique quintet for strings and piano using contrabass, imitating thus in this peculiar instrumental choice the German composer Hummel (1778-1837). The two other quintettes will be composed later, in 1825 and 1828. Unhappily, just like Rossini, he progressively suffered too from a disturbed, doubtful mind - maybe the consequence of genius mixed with a fragile temper - this shortening his life very quickly. We may miss such desperate ends for both composers who later became acknowledged as very great ones.

On the contrary, Maurice Journeau (1898-1999), an independent French 20th century composer, was of a different mood. A peaceful one, even if passionate and sensitive. He too was interested in writing piano quintets. His Suite for strings and piano, composed in 1929, includes three parts:"Conte", "Elégie", "Valse". So, after being plunged into a dreamy atmosphere, we may be impressed by the majestic tone of the elegy as a march, before ending in the giddiness of a whirling romantic waltz as a finale (a commentary by Chantal Virlet-Journeau)