Dedicated to the work of the inspired composer Olivier Messiaen 1908-1992), since 1998, the Messiaen Festival has taken place every summer at La Grave at the foot of the Pays de la Meije. While the two guest composers this year are Pascal Dusapin and Alain Louvier, This Saturday, 23 July, the village square of Villar-d’Arêne is transformed by night into a place of Indian spirituality under the direction of the bansûrî (large transverse flute) player Rishab Prasanna.

To read the report of Rishab Prasanna’s concert which he listened to with the Roohani Sisters in Fez, click here.

India in the Land of Messiah

While the concert day started at 5pm at La Grave Church, with Quatuor Béla and soprano Laura Holm at Debussy andAdonaïs or air and dreams by a composer close to the Messian, Bruno Ducol, just before nightfall, La Grave residents and festivalgoers made an appointment in a large Berber tent on the Place de Villar-d’Arêne.

Entrance is free and public, at the meeting place: many of the children present sit on the ground and all can drink cardamom tea to warm the cool evenings at high altitude after a hot, sunny summer day. . The director of the festival, Bruno Messina, came to introduce the musicians and recalled Olivier Messiaen’s strong connection with Indian music, long before music became fashionable, especially in the 1960s and 1970s with the Beat Generation and The Beatles. He presented Rishab Prasannathe bansûrî player, born in New Dehli but living in France and trained at his father Rajendra Prasanna’s school, has roots in North Indian traditions and is known to the general public for his improvised and outstanding performances in Meaning of Party by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. He is playing now in Avignon at 11 Rose Festival by Kleist with Norah Krief and Dayan Korolic (read our interview). Rishab Prasanna was accompanied by dancer Kathak Vishal Krishna, who was performing for the first time in France, as well as singer Samrat Pandit, sitar player Joyeeta Sanyal and two tabla (percussion) players Abhishek Mishra and Mosin Kawa.

Spirituality and discovery in popular events

Illuminated by round lamps emitting soft light and seated in a traditional manner across the width of the stage, dressed in shimmering colours, the musicians immediately imbued the heights with spirituality. As the two tabla players quickened their pace, the children and their parents began to move rhythmically; and the journey begins. Beating the rhythm with his ankle drums – whose voices are amplified – dancer Vishal Krishna blasts melodies into the microphone, changing his clothes to light up the night with colors. She is also able to perform with two bare feet resting on the edge of a large stage and provides the greatest appeal. Generously presented by Rajendra Prasanna, the pieces follow one another, some taken from tradition: such as air by Ravi Shankar, air to Krishna or traditional songs expressing immense sadness (especially by the wonderful voice of Samrat Pandit) . And some of the compositions belonged to the musicians we found, one of which was even “three days old”. Mystical bodies and livelier melodies intersect and fuse, with a climax moment when the tabla performers also begin to sing, and nearly two hours of music pass like a dream…

While the festival team was setting up the pillows and tents where the magic happened, the audience lingered in the Villar-d’Arêne square to keep on swapping and making the charm last, well into the night. .

This week, July 24, there are still a few Indian plans in the land of La Meije with a 10am sun salute on Lautaret pass and a conference on the concert we heard last night at 11am. Before 5 pm. Nicole Corti and her Spirito Choir don’t play Messian, Dusapin and Le Jeune in the Chazelet church and we don’t find the Béla quartet with percussionist Claudio Bettinelli in music by Dusapin and Henry Fourès plus IRCAM at the Salle des Grave festival.

The Messiah Festival continues until July 31find all the programs, especially the flamboyant cover that will take the shape of a contemporary ball, here.

Visual (c) YH and AS