The “Pasión Argentina” of Alarcón at the height of the basilica

On stage, Christ is dying, a technician is agitated, and Judas, in basketball, remains silent. At the foot of the nave of the Saint-Denis basilica, the Passion Argentina (or Passione di Gesù) by Leonardo García Alarcón. For his first composition, the Argentinian conductor was inspired by Borgès and theGospel of Judas, an apocryphal text found in 1976 and presenting the one who betrays Christ as the chosen one responsible for freeing his master from his human envelope. Throwback to a day at the Saint-Denis Festival.

A veritable setting, the basilica already vibrates during the final fittings to the sound of the bandoneon (by Wiliam Sabatier), but also with more jazz, rock and baroque sounds. In the background, the Cappella Mediterranea complex. Not far away, the famous chamber choir of Namur, followed by the choir made up of young people in residence at the Aubervilliers Regional Conservatory. We sing in Italian, we explain in Spanish, in French, in English. The final resting place of the kings of France has never been so lively.

Leonardo García Alarcón explains that he adjusted his composition for the Gothic monument. “There’s has all this acoustics of the abbey that we are not used to using, and which is absolutely extraordinary.”, he marvels. But he nevertheless confides as an aside: “There is always someone talking, someone walking, someone working. Silence is essential, but it only happens when the audience is there. Finally, you only discover the instrument that is the cathedral when the concert begins“.

The last fittings finished, he gives some advice to the young people who accompany him and specifies: “S‘there’s your aunt in the audience, please don’t look at her“, before entrusting franceinfo”It’s the first time they’ve been part of a large solo choir. For me, it is great to observe their emotion. There are many musical careers that begin at this age..”

“A place that purifies you”

There light gradually disappears behind the 19th century stained glass windows. The audience settles down. Then seeming to emerge from the stone, the choirs arrive from all sides to join the nave in a long musical procession. With virtuosity, the director Anaïs de Courson relies on all the spaces of the basilica to give the spectators a feeling of infinity.

In this show lasting more than two hours, interspersed with a break, Judas (tenor Valerio Contaldo) will remain silent for a long time before captivating the audience alongside Jesus (baritone Andreas Wolf). THE female characters occupy a large place: a touching Marie-Madeleine (Mariana Florès) who sings of her despair alongside the dazzling Sophie Junker (Marie) and Julie Roset (the angel).

The organ (by Quentin Guérillot) also punctuates the dramaturgy. “The cathedral is a musical instrument – in short – and the great organs are its vocal cords, assures the organist. I am always impressed by the quality of the acoustics. I can clearly hear the orchestra playing downstairs. And my role is to watch over my fellow musicians by inspiring them sometimes with terror, sometimes with peace, sometimes with power, sometimes with restraint or gravity.“. Leonardo García Alarcón shares this same joy of playing in such a monument:”It is a place that purifies you. It is one of the first Gothic buildings. It was like a dream to heaven. A utopia of the earth towards the sky, even. And all this is present at the moment of this composition. Besides, music, in a way, goes beyond stones, beyond all the arts. It starts when we’re out of words“.

Festival of Saint-Denis – from June 2 to June 27, 2023 – Basilica of Saint-Denis / House of Education of the Legion of Honor.