Come and vibrate to the sound of polyphonies during a concert, at the bend of a café terrace or a market… with one watchword: sharing! Without forgetting the Master Classes.
13 years already that Gérard Trémège, Mayor of Tarbes and Pascal Caumont, artistic director of Tarba en Canta had the idea of creating this polyphony festival. They presented the program for this edition which will take place from June 6 to 11.
The evening concerts will be chargeable
” We never thought when we launched this festival that it would be such a success “, acknowledged the mayor of Tarbes, Gérard Trémège. ” It must be said that this is an event that has many advantages. We are particularly lucky to have with Pascal, an artistic director, who has a very good network. He has the ability to find new groups every year for us to discover. In agreement with Pascal we wanted the real impact of this meeting which until now was completely free. For this 13th edition, the evening concerts will be chargeable. Admission will be €5 except for the opening concert at the Les Actualités theater where prices will range from €10 to €15 “.
Pascal Caumont explained that the festival would welcome innovative ensembles again this year. ” We will also have 1,100 children from our schools and 300 college students. »
Polyphony, a tradition in motion
Coming from an ancient oral tradition, polyphony honors songs that convey aesthetics, culture and social ties, in constant evolution.
The Pyrenean Polyphonies of Bigorre form with those of Béarn and the Basque Country, one of the great polyphonic traditions of Southern Europe, alongside those of Corsica, Bulgaria, Sardinia. But unlike Corsica and the Basque Country, this Pyrenean practice is still unknown.
By introducing you to emerging regional groups, in a deliberately eclectic programme, the Tarba en Canta festival promises to make you experience a very festive moment combining tradition and modernity!
Polyphony groups from Southern Europe and world music formations are invited to discuss in the heart of the city of Bigourdane with the actors of regional polyphony, for a colorful program open to insiders and amateurs alike.
Contrary to the image we have of polyphony, Tarba en Canta proves that this tradition has a bright future ahead of it, since more than 2,500 students from the Tarb area participate each year with their schools in Mainats en Canta: a great moment of meeting around the polyphonic songs to dance, shared by all these young people in front of the public of the festival!
Evening concerts on June 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 at 8:30 p.m.
The warmth and strength of the Corsican voices reinforced by the performance of very good musicians at the Théâtre des Nouveaux de Tarbes (June 6), the richness of the traditional music and songs of the East Slavic peoples at the church of Juillan ( June 7), a repertoire of traditional songs from the Occitan Country and carols from the Basque Country in the USA via Italy, Corsica and the Catalan Country at the church of Séméac (June 8), the intense emotion provoked by the famous drone of Italian singers from Liguria at the church of St Jean de Tarbes (June 9), to end in style with a 100% Occitan concert at the Collegiate Church of Ibos (June 10). Polyphony in all its forms !
Paying concerts from 5 to 15 €
Tuesday, June 6, 8:30 p.m.: opening concert at the Tarbes novelties theater with Jean Menconi and his musicians. Paid places 10 and 15 €. (Corsica), reduced price for children from 8 years old, students and job seekers, disabled, free – 8 years old. Today recognized as one of the most beautiful voices in Corsica, open to music and its diversity, he combines the truth of traditional Corsican singing with the current accents of Anglo-Saxon pop rock and his Italian origins. Interpreting these deep songs transmitted from father to son and his own compositions, he shares his passion and takes his audience with him…
Wednesday, June 7, 8:30 p.m.: concert at the Juillan church with the vocal ensemble Lado Polyphonie. Paid places 5€. (Ukraine), – 12 years free. “Once upon a time in Ukraine”. 7 women of different origins who have given themselves the mission of introducing the public to the riches of the traditional music of the East Slavic peoples. Their repertoire is based on songs recorded by ethnomusicologists in villages with the last bearers of the tradition, which the singers transmit in an authentic way, faithful to the spirit of the tradition. With the participation of Los Joens, students of the Henri Duparc conservatory in Tarbes.
Thursday June 8, 8.30 p.m.: concert at the Séméac church with Los Aguilhonès. Paid places 5€. (Occitan). In the South-West, particularly in the Gers, the Aguilhonès were those collectors who went around the houses to collect eggs, flour, wheat or money used in part for the blessed bread shared at the mass of midnight. They took the opportunity to sing and improvise a few verses at the windows of the villagers, from the wisest to the funniest! Two men’s voices and two women’s voices to offer a repertoire of traditional songs from the Occitan Country and Christmas songs from the Basque Country, Italy, Corsica, the Catalan Country or even the USA in order to share different sounds around the same theme. With the participation of Los Gojats, students of the Henri Duparc conservatory in Tarbes.
Friday June 9, 8.30 p.m.: concert at the Saint Jean church in Tarbes with the Compagnie Sacco di Cariana. (Italian). This Ligurian formation has existed since the 13th century. Its four-voice religious repertoire is accompanied by a vocal drone that creates a continuous basic structure. The song is introduced by the baritone “second voice”, to which the higher tenor voice is added and the drones accompany the soloists. This male group sings without a maestro and in a circle to look each other in the eye and the polyphony that emerges, supported by the beauty of the texts, produces great emotions. With the participation of Las Arribèras, students of the Henri Duparc conservatory in Tarbes.
Saturday 10 June, 3 p.m.: concert at Sainte Thérèse Tarbes church with Tant que li Siam (Provençal) and Baionako Polifoniak (Basque). Paid places 5€. Tant que li Siam: two singers and two percussionist singers sing an original repertoire of poems collected around Ventoux and more broadly in Provence. Baionako Polifoniak: ensemble composed of nine voices of men accustomed to choral singing. From Mauléon to Bonifacio, from Occitania to Italy, these polyphonies make the souls who listen to them travel for their greatest happiness.
Saturday June 10, 8:30 p.m. at the collegiate church of Ibos concerts with Eths d’Azun (Occitan) and Las que Cantan (Occitan). Paid places 5€. Eths d’Azun: True and real values that are found in their songs to revive and share the songs of yesteryear and the cultural heritage of the Val d’Azun. Las que Cantan: Ile-de-France choir driven by the desire to feed on the vibrations of traditional singing, attached to orality and transmission. Five singers from very diverse backgrounds, who have been enriched by meetings with bearers of Occitan heritage.
Sunday June 11, 5 p.m. free concert in the Massey garden with Bahez (Basque) and Bandé A Koustik (festive music from Occitanie and the Mediterranean). Bahez is a collective of singers and pandero players rooted in current popular music inherited from the Basque Country. La Bande A Koustik, offers a repertoire where guitar, accordion, rebab, violin, voice and percussion sing a rhythm to a plural and always renewed culture.
Les Cantèras on June 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 at 10:30 p.m. and June 11 at 7 p.m.
The unmissable event of the festival! At the end of the concerts, dive into the heart of this Pyrenean tradition with these parts of spontaneous songs with several voices where everyone can sing, dance or simply listen as they please. The goal is to share a convivial moment over a drink…in a café.
June 6, 10:30 p.m., Échoppe des galopins; 70 rue Maréchal Foch in Tarbes.
June 7, 10:30 p.m., forecourt of the town hall in Juillan.
June 8, 10:30 p.m., forecourt of the town hall in Séméac
June 9, 10:30 p.m., The Celtic Pubn 1 rue de l’Harmonie in Tarbes.
June 10, 10:30 p.m., Les Platanes, 16 place de Verdun in Ibos.
June 11, 7 p.m., refreshment bar in the Massey garden in Tarbes.
Traveling concerts in the Tarbais markets on June 8, 10 and 11 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
From the Halle Marcadieu market (June 8) to the Halle Brauhauban market (June 10 and 11), do your shopping to the sound of traditional instruments and Occitan, Spanish, Basque, Italian or even French songs…
Aperitif-concerts on June 7, 8, 9 and 10 at 6 p.m.
Meet at the festival’s partners to sip a drink with friends, on the terrace, to the sound of polyphonies and traditional instruments and around a varied repertoire composed of Occitan, Spanish, Basque,…
On June 7, at 6 p.m., aperitif concert at Etal 36, halle Brauhauban in Tarbes with Enagua. Four passionate musicians transport you to the Iberian musical heritage.
On June 8, at 6 p.m., aperitif concert, The Shamrock Irish Pub, 15 place de Verdun in Tarbes with Aàgut (Southern Europe). Three female voices, each with their own personality, play a multiple score on stage.
On June 9, at 6 p.m., aperitif concert at Europe, 9 place de Verdun in Tarbes with La bande A Koustik. Festive music from Occitania and the Mediterranean.
On June 10, at 6 p.m., aperitif concert Le Plan B, 3 chemin Cognac in Tarbes with Adar (Basque).
Mainats in canta
June 8 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and June 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. the Mainats en canta.
The festival invites college students from the department (June 8) for a concert by the Occitan group Aàgut, followed by a restitution concert by the college students then an open discussion with the artists (open only to colleges upon registration). kindergartens and elementary schools in the Hautes-Pyrénées perform under the Halle Marcadieu (June 9) dance songs worked on during the year, with the help and complicity of the Occitan duo Régis Latapie / Bastien Zaoui.
The conference “Geography of Polyphony” on June 10 at 4:30 p.m. at L’impasse rue Brauhauban in Tarbes.
By listening and singing, mixing theory and humour, Emmanuel Pesnot makes us relive more than ten centuries of a fascinating experience. Repelled like so many others by the “official” teaching of music, but passionate about singing together, he invites us to question ourselves about this common practice, but which does not fail to raise questions… Conference presented by Emmanuel Pesnot, singer, choir director, singing teacher and 3rd cycle students at the Henri Duparc Conservatory in Tarbes.
The “Géographie des Polyphonies” exhibition from June 1 to 30 at the Tarbes tourist office
Exhibition in partnership with the Music Museum of Céret (66). All along the Pyrenees chain, polyphonies have long been associated with the figure of the shepherd-singer. But apart from the mountain and its valleys, this practice is widely diffused in the foothills, these more or less vast plains which border the massif. Today, it is in the cities that we find the most singers and singers. The practice of polyphony goes from the Basque Country to Catalonia via Gascony and the upper valley of the Aude, but also in Aragon and the Val d’Aran on the Spanish side. However, it is particularly alive in the very heart of the Pyrenees, in Occitanie (Bigorre, Quatre-Vallées, Béarn, Bas-Adour), where it is not uncommon to surprise cantèras, these moments of spontaneous singing.
Very similar traditions persist in northern Italy and Sardinia, while elsewhere in France they are found in the county of Nice, in Savoie and in Corsica. To discover at the Tourist Office from Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. FREE ENTRANCE.
