Southern France

The collection of ethnic and folkloristic musical instruments covers c 1000 pieces. The museum is connected with the music school. Visits by appointment, tel. 0681 3326 70.

The château d’Arpaillergues was the house of Marie de Flavigny, Contesse d’Agoult from 1827 until 1835. In 1834 she met Franz Liszt in Paris and became his mistress, his travelling companion in Switzerland and Italy and the mother of his children Blandine, Cosima and Daniel. The liaison was broken up in 1839, but sometimes they met, e.g. in 1861 (> fp2.0726). She also was a writer, under the pen name Daniel Stern.

The castle is a hotel now.

The opera and concert hall of Béziers was opened in 1844; in the same year, Liszt gave a recital here.

The Arena, also called Arènes du Plateau de Valras, was built in 1897 for bull fights but until 1910 also a venue for opera; works by Saint-Saens, Bizet, Fauré, Séverac, Hérold and Spontini were performed. Today pop concerts for 13000 listeners.

The composer and loyal member of the Groupe des Six, Georges Auric (1899-1983), was born in this hotel, where his father was the manager. The family moved to Montpellier in 1902. There are two plaques, one of them with Auric’s biography (photo 3, zoom in!).

The first Montpellier opera was built in 1755, but this building burnt down, as did two of its successors. The present theatre is from 1888 and has 1200 seats.

Building from 1990. The ‘auditorium Berlioz’ has 1200-2000 seats.

Birthplace of the singer-songwriter Georges Brassens (1921-1981). The interesting museum can also entirely be visited online: > www.espace-brassens.fr .

Birthplace of the popular singer Charles Trenet (1913-2001). He stayed attached to the house of his youth, kept it lifelong and donated it finally in 2000 to the municipality, to have it converted into a museum.

The violinist and composer Jean-Joseph Casanéa de Mondonville (1711-1772) was born in this area and visited the Maîtrise [choir school] of the cathedral, where his father was organist and where he had been baptised.

Museum devoted to the poet and inventor Charles Cros (1842-1888). In the 1870s he created a ‘paléophone’ [= ‘sound of the past’], which was the direct precursor of Edison’s phonograph from 1879. Cros can thus be considered the inventor of sound recording, but he took no advantage of it; Edison so much the more.

Céret is a centre of French-Catalonian culture. A annual festival Serdanes is held in July (the serdana or sardana is the national group dance of Catalonia). The International Centre of Popular Culture has a collection of instruments.

Last house of the composer Marie-Joseph-Alexandre Déodat de Séverac (1872-1921), who introduced Catalonian elements into his compositions.

Monument of Déodat de Séverac by Manuel Hugé from 1923. In the meantime its ambiance has changed; the first photo is from the 1980s.

Bust of the Catalonian cellist and composer Pau (Pablo) Casals (1876-1973), who lived in Prades from 1940 until 1957, when he turned his back to Franco’s Spain. He died in Puerto Rico.

House of Pau (Pablo) Casals between 1948 and 1957. It has been named Cant des Ocells [birds’ song], after a composition of his from 1941.

A modest museum is devoted to Casals, who started an annual summer festival in Prades in 1950. The concerts by renowned musicians are held in the small church of the Romanesque abbey of Saint Michel de Cuxa.

Birthplace of the composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924).

Monument of Gabriel Fauré by André Méric (1927), slightly changed in 1982.

Gabriel Fauré spent his first four years (1845-49) with a wet-nurse at this address.

Gabriel Fauré lived in Foix-Montgauzy from 1849 to 1854; his father was school master here. At the harmonium of the Chapelle Notre-Dame de Montgauzy, the young boy discovered his vocation.

The monument from 1931 was made by the son of the composer, Emmanuel Fauré-Fremiet.

Romanesque church with a fine organ by an unknown maker from the middle of the 17^th century. Restored in 1972, 1981 and 2003. II/pdp/11.

Organ by Jean-François Lépine, 1760, in a case from 1550. Restored in 1980. III/p/41.

Last home of the composer William Vincent Wallace (1815-1865). He was born in Ireland and led an adventurous life in many countries as far as Mexico, New Zealand and India. He died here at the castle of his sister-in-law, baroness of Saintegène.

The combination of concert hall and opera theatre with the town hall exists since 1737; the present hall is from 1923. There are numerous recordings of the Orchestre du Capitol de Toulouse.

A former granary from 1861 has been changed in 1970 into a concert hall.

Monument from 1951 by A. Guénat, devoted to the composer Déodat de Séverac (1872-1921).

Birthplace of Marie-Joseph-Alexandre Déodat baron de Séverac (1872-1921). Monument from 1924.

Organ by Grégoire Robiny from 1781. The original disposition of II/p/20 was extended in 1953/1994 to III/p/32.

Déodat de Séverac played the instrument, paintings by his father Gilbert de Séverac add lustre to the church.

Grave of Déodat de Séverac.

The composer Nicolas Dalayrac (1753-1809) was born in Muret.

Some memories of Nicolas Dalayrac are displayed in this museum, including his desk and violin. Dalayrac’s music sounds in a reconstruction of a small 18^th century theatre.

Grave of the organist and composer Jean Langlais (1907-1991). Escalquens was the home village of his first wife Jeanette, buried here too.

The ‘Black Virgin’ of Rocamadour was Francis Poulenc’s favourite pilgrimage destination since the death of his friend Pierre-Octave Ferroud in 1936. In this year he started writing various religious works, including Les litanies de la Vierge Noire.

Poulenc donated two silver chalices to the convent, which were exhibited in a museum of sacred art named after him (Musée d’art sacré Francis Poulenc), but this seems no longer to be accessible.

Ancestral castle of Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret (1879-1957), the composer of the famous Chants d’Auvergne. He lived here in the 1890s and would keep visiting it after that.

House of the song composer Henri Duparc (1848-1933) during the First World War.

Giuseppe Verdi stayed here with Giuseppina Strepponi in the autumn of 1866, finishing the opera Don Carlos. Address unknown.

The 16^th century Maison Dagourette houses a museum of Basque culture. There are instruments, videos of dances and portraits of musicians, including a painting of the pianist Francis Planté with a crown of golden oak leaves.

Igor Stravinsky lived here between 1921 and 1924. There is a tiny plaque on the façade, hardly visible for the naked eye; supposedly at the height of his apartment.

Villa Navarra was the last house of the Spanish violinist and composer Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908).

Photos by Monique Beaufils, Biarritz municipality.

During the last seven weeks of his life, the Catalonian composer Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) underwent a cure in the chalet Saint Martin, today converted into a large clinic for pulmonary diseases. The plaque for Albeniz is in a little park before the entrance.

The composer Henri Duparc (1848-1933) moved to Monein in 1885 and bought the house in 1892. It was here, doubting his abilities, that he burned various manuscripts of his works. He returned to Paris in 1897, selling the house back to the family from which he had bought it (still its proprietors).

The violinist Jacques Thibaud (1880-1953), member of a famous trio with Cortot and Casals, had this villa built in 1926 and lived here permanently from 1941. He died in an air crash, ten days after his last concert in Biarritz.

Grave of the violinist Jacques Thibaud.

Claude Debussy lived here during the summer of 1917. During a concert devoted to his works, he performed with the violinist Gaston Poulet his violin sonata; it should be his last public appearance.

Maurice Ravel wrote his Trio and the two Hebrew songs at this address in 1914.

Maurice Ravel started with the composition of the Boléro in 1928 in this house of Mrs. Galichet.

This 17^th century merchant’s house at the quai de la Nivelle (today named after him) is the birthplace of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). He lived here only three months, before his family moved to Paris, but the two preceding addresses prove that he gladly returned.

The composer Henri Duparc – in full: Marie-Eugène-Henri Foucques-Duparc – lived here from 1919 until his death in 1933. Blind, ill and lonely, he didn’t compose anymore. His house at 48 rue Victor Hugo was recently demolished; there is no monument nor plaque to remember the great fellow-citizen. A street name seems to be enough.

The famous pianist Francis Planté (1839-1934), a pupil of Franz Liszt, bought this estate in 1880 and lived here from 1896.

Although the opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) probably never stayed in Arcachon, he is honoured with a villa from the middle of the 19^th century, supposedly by fervent admirers.

Claude Debussy stayed in this villa in 1880 in the retinue of Nadeshda von Meck, well known as the rich supporter and confidential friend of Tchaikovsky. She employed the young composer as music teacher and pianist during the summers of 1880, ’81 and ’82 and he stayed with her in Moscow and accompanied her on travels through Europe.

The organist, improvisator and composer Charles Arnould Tournemire (1870-1939) visited this villa of his father frequently. During his last visit he drowned in the bay of Arcachon.

Grave of Charles Charles Tournemire.

The composer Clément Janequin (1485-1558) worked in Bordeaux between 1505 and 1530. The Mannheim composer Franz Ignaz Beck (1734-1809) lived in Bordeaux from 1761 until his death. He was organist at Saint Seurin. Today his excellent symphonies are still performed.

Born in Bordeaux: the violinists Pierre Rode (1774-1830) and Jacques Thibaud (1880-1953), and the composers Charles Tournemire (1870-1939), Jean Roger-Ducasse (1873-1954) and Henri Sauguet (1901-1989).

An annual music festival is held in May, Mai musical.

The magnificent ‘Grand Théâtre’ was built in 1780 by the architect Victor Louis. It has 1100 seats. The present director is Marc Minkowski. It is also the venue for the National Orchestra of Bordeaux-Aquitaine.

Grave of the famous violinist and composer Pierre Rode (1774-1830), a pupil of Viotti and a representative of both the French and Italian violin school.

On this cemetery is also the grave of the painter Goya, who died in 1828 when on visit in Bordeaux.

Birthplace of the composer Jean Roger-Ducasse (1873-1954).

Birthplace of the composer Henri Sauguet (1901-1989). He was born as Henri Poupard but chose his mother’s surname. The town archives have a substantial collection of letters, images and personal belongings of the composer.

The young Henri Sauguet was organist in this church from 1916 until 1822.

The composer Jean Roger-Ducasse stayed often at the family property of Pichebouc and he died here in 1954.

Within the citadel is the ruin of the castle of the troubadour Jaufre Rudel (12^th century).

Some parts of this beautiful baroque castle date from the 12^th century, when a well known troubadour lived here: Bertrand de Born, viscount of Hautefort. He was a great artist, but also a hoodlum and intriguer; during his whole life the possession of the castle was a point of contention between him and his brother Constantin; they lived here by turns.

The famous singer and dancer Joséphine Baker lived here with a host of foster children from all corners of the world. There is an exhibition about her fascinating career.