The Alliance Française de Macau (AF) is organizing the Sacred Music Festival for the second year in a row. Between November 26 and December 2, the Festival will bring to Macau three baroque ensembles and two soloists from France. The organizers are hoping to promote Macau’s heritage and historic buildings through the music genre that is closely associated with them, as well as to introduce audiences to the culture and history of France.
David Rouault is a board member of the AF. He reveals that the Festival was inspired by a concert at the Saint Joseph Seminary several years ago by a baroque ensemble invited by the AF. For him, listening to a baroque ensemble in a baroque style church is like “having a great dish paired perfectly with an exceptional wine”.
“Since Macau has one of the richest western patrimoine (heritages) in Asia… to have a baroque festival here doesn’t only make sense, but is actually surprising that there was not one already,” he adds.
Rouault says baroque music is not “very present” in Asia and there is no baroque ensemble here as the genre is seen as “very European”. It also requires some special instruments like the harpsichord, which drew a lot of interest in last year’s Festival.
With such a rich cultural heritage, Rouault thinks Macau can become the capital of baroque music in Asia and hopes that the Sacred Music Festival can turn into an international event.
The AF has invited Macau-born musician Lio Kuokman to be the musical director, who Rouault describes as a “very talented musician, accomplished pianist and now having a great career as a conductor around the world”.
This year’s Sacred Music Festival will have four concerts at three different locations. Two of the concerts, performed by Sprezzatura & Sébastien Fournier and Les Sacqueboutiers, will be held at the Saint Joseph’s Seminary, while a third will be at Saint Dominic’s Church, performed by the Amarillis and Maïlys de Villoutreys.
A highlight of this year’s program will definitely be the performance at the Mandarin House by all three ensembles. The style of this concert will be different from the rest of the program because the audience will be able to enjoy the performance in different rooms of the Mandarin House, which will be lit only with candles, giving them an intimate musical experience.
Moreover, the Sacred Music Festival 2016 also includes three master classes, offered by the three guest ensembles. These master classes target primarily local music students. However, members of the public can also contact the organizations hosting the classes or the AF to see if there are seats available for the public.
About the Guest Ensembles:
Sprezzatura & Sébastien Fournier:
Created in 2001 by Sébastien Fournier, Sprezzatura’s works are mainly in rediscovering early music through the interpretation of ornaments. For Sébastien, like sunlight, music spreads an essential energy, vital to the wellbeing of each and every one of us.
Les Sacqueboutiers:
Jean-Pierre Canihac and Jean-Pierre Mathieu created Les Sacqueboutiers in 1976. They were among the first to embark on the adventurous rediscovery of early instruments. The group comprises a nucleus of cornetts and sackbuts, which is joined, as the needs arise, by other instruments.
Amarillis & Maïlys de Villoutreys :
Amarillis is now one of Europe’s most original Baroque ensembles. The group has won several competitions since its creation in 1994, including first prize in the York Early Music Competition and the public prize in the Sinfonia Competition.
