La fête de la musique -- later, that same night...

We’ve already covered, in a previous blog, what happened on the morning of the 21^st, and the “office party” at Groupama. So what did we do in the evening? After all, Montpellier is a sizable city, surely we can do better than crashing someone else’s party (with a DJ playing ‘80s disco!).

Events were planned in the town, a stage set up in the main square, Place de la Comédie. We really weren’t interested in standing in the hot sun listening to the children’s choir (sorry, kids), nor waiting around for the next group to set up.

Instead we headed over to the Corum, a recent construction that houses the new opera house and performance center. The symphony orchestra of Montpellier would be playing something; the exact program would not be announced, it was announced. Oh, and tickets would be free.

By 7:30 PM (that would be 19:30, local time), after a bit of confusion over tickets and where to sit, we were settled into seats in the nose-bleed section. The place was packed! Clearly, the residents of Montpellier were very fond of their orchestra, showing up even without knowing what was going to happen.

Overall, it was very good, very lively. The musicians were excellent, and received multiple standing ovations. Although the musicians were dressed to the nines, with white ties and tails, they did cut up a bit: during one number the six bass players spun their instruments at the end of every measure. And the violinists, all 25 of them, stood up and sat down several times during one piece. (I guess that’s getting pretty wild for the symphony.)

After the concert we did see a program, and it was contemporary, all written within the last 60 years or so. I recognized none of the composers (and why would I?), most of whom were Spanish. One thing we did recognize, though, was El amor brujo, love of the witch, by Manuel de Falla (familiar because it was used in Disney’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice).

And for the rest of the evening… but talking about music doesn’t do it justice. Here’s a little video we made. Enjoy!

Fete de la Musique, Montpellier 2016