Oct 11

Oct 11 L'Arpeggiata and Philippe Jaroussky at Festival Ambronay

One of my fond memories five years ago was getting to hear two performances at the Ambronay Festival, featuring the Imaginarium Ensemble (Enrico Onofri) and a performance of Handel’s Giulio Cesare by Les Talens Lyriques (Christophe Rousset). My yearly vacation this year aligned with the festival again and so I returned recently from France and got to see another favorite ensemble, L’Arpeggiata, perform.

Christina Pluhar’s ensemble this time around was diminished in size, but not in enthusiasm. The star was the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. The first half of the concert pulled many numbers from their most recent collaboration, Passacalle de la Follie. I was also tickled to see Ms. Ujszászi from my most recent review, as part of the ensemble as violinist. The group also would not be complete with Doron Sherwin, who is often fun to watch as his face is always changing to reflect his mood and the participation of the other performers.

We had excellent seats near the front and center. The sound in the Ambronay Abbey is far better when you’re in the prime seats. As usual, the interior was lit well and we were surrounded by an enthusiastic audience.

Beyond the aforementioned album, Jaroussky performed numbers from the ensemble’s Monteverdi albums and Purcell album. A rendition of Besame mucho was also included, from the Pajaraos Perdidos album. Any fan of Jaroussky got some of his bet hits with the ensemble.

If one has never seen a performance of L’Apreggiata live, they infuse humor into their productions and excellent musicianmanship. While the concert was not free of flubs, the playing, as usual, was technically well done, and above that, interpreted with genuine feeling to answer the call to move the audience.

This concert was presented without a pause and the ensemble offered the audience two encores, despite a demand for a third. Having not attended a live concert for sometime, I have to say being back in the audience seat was a thrill. First, to hear music in a natural environment that worked without amplification was nice. Second, to be surrounded by what I can only admire as true fans was exhilarating. News on the street was that the tickets for this performance sold out within an hour!

This was the first time I got to hear Jaroussky live. His power seemed to require some effort, but his sound and projection was consistent throughout the performances. There was nothing spectacularly different about his presence on stage that you can’t see in a YouTube video, however hearing him live and in front of you was nevertheless special. He still remains one of my favorite singers in his voice range. While often someone I consider a serious musician, it was cool, as always, to see Jaroussky, alongside the other members of L’Apreggiata to be folk who are okay letting their hair down and providing themselves the license to at least look like they’re having fun.

Alas, I was unable to attend other performances at this year’s festival. I wanted to end by providing some notes on attending this festival as it may be a challenge to those not familiar with travel in France.

Ambronay is a small village north of Lyon. The largest city nearby is Bourg-en-Bresse. Both times I have stayed at the ‘Village Blanc’ in Vonnas, which is less of a town and more of a gourmet destination hidden among cornfields. Each time getting back near midnight through the dark back to Vonnas is its own special challenge. While there are accommodations in Ambronay, they are laughably small in number.

Many Americans may wish to get to the area via Lyon, which has an airport and TGV train station. Driving in larger French cities makes me nervous; I’ve done well to rent from TGV stations in the past and avoid the headaches of inner-city driving. Just be ready for the main traffic circles popular in France.