Ensemble Beatus: Sacred and secular songs from the 12th century - Trouvères, troubadours, Rûmi and Persian mysticism. - Taghi Akhbari: Vocals Jean-Paul Rigaud: Vocals, Viele, Harp; Nader Aghakhani: Târ
Ensemble UMS'nJIP: Contemporary music by Motoharu Kawashima and folk songs from the Upper Valais (Switzerland)
This event combines music with a guided walk through the castle grounds by historian Michael Thoury.ensemble beatus: Founded and directed by Jean-Paul Rigaud, Beatus is a vocal ensemble specialising in a cappella performances of the vocal repertoire, both sacred and secular, from the 9th century to the dawn of the Renaissance. The ensemble's interpretation is based on its knowledge of the sources, notations and context of the works. It brings together performers with an insatiable curiosity, who place ancient works within a living, creative process. It creates unusual encounters between the masters of the past and those of the present, and plays an active part in bringing to light our extraordinary musical heritage. His interpretations are adapted to the acoustics of the venue in which the concert is taking place, and Beatus takes the musical heritage material as a starting point, adapting it and bringing it to life in the present context, here and now. In this way, the two innovative and creative eras of the Middle Ages and the present day resonate with each other, sharing the common characteristic of being in search of innovative systems of writing and transmission. The quality of its programmes, its sound identity and the boldness of its proposals place the ensemble among the most recognised in its musical field. Keen to pass on the richness of this heritage to as many people as possible, it initiates a wide range of artistic encounters that open up new spaces in which to display its beauty.
Jean-Paul Rigaud is a lyric singer (baritone) who has specialised in the repertoire of the Middle Ages for many years and is artistic director of the Ensemble Beatus. He has worked and recorded with the ensembles Organum, Perceval (dir. Guy Robert), Jacques Moderne (dir. J.Y. Hammeline), Sequentia / Dialogos (B. Badby & C. Liviliajic), Aziman (Anne Azema), and from 1996 to 2012 with the ensemble Diabolus in Musica (dir. Antoine Guerber). These recordings have been hailed by the critics: Diapasons d'Or, Choc du Monde de la musique, 10 de Répertoire, 5 de Goldberg. In 2005 he founded the Ensemble Beatus. The ensemble's activities are punctuated by numerous concerts and performances in France and abroad, as well as recordings. A teacher at the Tours Conservatoire, Jean-Paul Rigaud has given master classes at the Fondation Royaumont and in Minneapolis, and is involved in a number of cultural initiatives, particularly in the Centre and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions.
Taghi Akhbari - Born into a musical family, he has been singing since the age of 10. His love of French literature brought him to France in the 80s. He discovered Western vocal technique in the 90s, then took opera singing lessons with artists from the Tours opera. At the same time, he attended sacred singing classes with masters of Persian music, receiving direct, oral instruction as required by tradition. This enabled him to combine Western technique with Eastern sensitivity. It was in 2005 that he was revealed to the public at the Abbaye de Royaumont as the singer of classical Persian music. Since then, he has worked with such great artists as Kudsi Erguner (the Turkish ney player), Dariush Talaï (the Persian master), Robert Wilson (the American director), Bartabas and Noir Désir. Since 2007 he has sung with Marc Mauillon in the ensemble Doulce Mémoire. He has recorded an album entitled ‘Laudes’, blending the music of Eastern and Western brotherhoods. This album was awarded the Diapason d'Or in September 2009. In 2011, he set up his own ensemble, Delgocha, to promote Persian classical music. He is accompanied by classical and traditional instrumentalists. His meeting with Jean-Paul Rigaud, founder of ‘Beatus’, which specialises in the interpretation of medieval music and Gregorian chant, gave him a better understanding of these repertoires and enabled him to forge closer links between the ‘Persian’ and ‘Gregorian’ modes. In early 2011, he met the De Caelis Ensemble, a group of five women singing a capella. They hit it off perfectly, and the result is a feast of sacred and secular vocal repertoire. Since 2014 he has been singing in an original improvised singing programme with Pierre Hamon and the whistlers of the Bay of the Somme, ‘les chanteurs d'oiseaux’. He currently collaborates with Francis Biggi the director of the early music department at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève, Alexandre Traube (founder and director of the choir ‘In illo tempore’ and the ensemble ‘Flores harmonici’ in Geneva). Several concerts to his credit: Royaumont, Venice, Théâtre de l'Athénée, Opéra Royal de Bruxelles, Opéra de Rouen, Amiens Cathedral, Sintra and Porto (Portugal), Ravenna (Italy), the ‘La Via Lattea’ festival in Italian-speaking Switzerland, World Music Festival in Udaipur (India).
Nader Aghakhani - With a Sufi grandfather, he was immersed in a mystical atmosphere from an early age, the influence of which can be felt in his playing. He began playing the tar at the age of ten with a great master of Persian music. From 1987 onwards he studied Persian radif and pieces composed by the great masters of music. In 1991 he began studying psychology and obtained his doctorate, which deals with healing rituals (accompanied by song and music) in a community (Ahlé Hava: the people of the air) in southern Iran. Since 1992 he has been performing in concert with classical and contemporary ensembles. With a solid classical background and a desire to meet musicians from other musical worlds and study the sound of their instruments, he has not hesitated to take part in the creation of experimental groups. Since 2000 he has accompanied Iranian singers and other early music ensembles. In 2007, he met the Doulce Mémoire ensemble in Tours. The result of this encounter is a series of joint programmes: Les Roses d'Ispahan and Les Laudes.
UMS'nJIP: see event on 12 July 2025
