French Music Festival

La Françoise:

A Festival with a French Accent

The Festival in a nutshell

All events take place at

the Armidale Uniting Church.

FESTIVAL PASS 60 $ ONLY

(C'est un cadeau!)

including our fancy programme book

(that's thousands of notes for every dollar!).

Single event tickets $ 10.

FRIDAY 21 JUNE

7:00 PM Premier Concert

[First Concert]

Music by François Couperin (including the First Concert from his Royal Concerts; the first French Italian trio sonata La Françoise; and pieces for two harpsichords), Rameau, and Debussy. With Baroque string specialist Margaret Caley (Brisbane), Dutch-born harpsichordist Jan-Piet Knijff, Russian-born harpsichordist Lena Schmalz, Armidale violinist Jodie Ostenfeld and flautists Danièle Burckhardt and Matthew Hopcroft.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5-FyCvEdpGVa0MtX0UzRU1RTms/edit

SATURDAY 22 JUNE

10:00 Petites Suites

[Little Suites]

The New England's own Armidale Piano Duo (Lena Schmalz and Jan-Piet Knijff) play great little suites by Georges Bizet (from L'Arlesienne) and Claude Debussy.

11:00 Le Tombeau de Couperin

[Monument for Couperin]

Newcastle pianist Vincent Parmeter plays Maurice Ravel's great hommage to his great predecessor, preceded by some Couperin on harpsichord and organ by Jan-Piet Knijff.

12:15 Bonjour mon coeur

[G'day sweetie]

Great French music for chamber choir performed by Choir V (Newcastle), directed by Samantha Cobcroft. Debussy, Ravel, and a host of Renaissance composers.

2:00 Les flûtes enchantées

[Magic flutes]

Flautists Gerard Larkins and Matthew Hopcroft perform some of the highlights of the great French flute tradition. Music by Fauré, Chaminade, Dutilleux and others.

4:00 Les nuits d'été

[Summer nights]

Some of Australia's best singers in a programme of all-French art song. With Samantha Cobcroft (Newcastle) in Berlioz Nuits d'été (with Vincent Parmeter--and remember it's summer in France anyway!); Dianne Cotterill (Broken Hill) in Fauré, Ravel, and Poulenc; Anthea Harrington (Newcastle) in Songs from the Auvergne (Canteloube); and Armidale singers Jenny Hebblewhite (Fauré) and Inge Southcott (Duparc).

7:00 Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix / La vie en rose

Our evening programme features French opera (including the Habanera of Habaneras; the Flower Duet of Flower Duets; and the Barcarolle of Barcarolles) with Samantha Cobcroft, Dianne Cotterill, and Anthea Harrington; followed by a special programme of chansons by Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf with Newcastle diva Asia Lunarzewski (with 'La vie en rose' and other great songs).

SUNDAY 23 JUNE

11:30 Ma mère l'oye

[Mother Goose] FREE EVENT

Music for and by kids. With Ravel's Mother Goose (Samantha Cobcroft and Vincent Parmeter as Beauty and the Beast!) and music by Charpentier, Dieupart, Florent Schmitt and others for organ, violin, piano...

2:00 Les Blues de Monsieur Maurice

[Maurice's Blues]

Up-and-coming Armidale violinist and violist Jodie Ostenfeld plays the 'Blues' from Maurice Ravel's Violin Sonata. Ms. Ostenfeld then switches to viola joining premier Armidale flautist Gerard Larkins and pianist Jan-Piet Knijff for a rare performance of the piano trio by Maurice Duruflé, almost as blue as Ravel and equally exquisite (French as they both are!).

4:00 Chantez toujours!

[Sing forevermore!]

The Armidale Choral Society and Friends directed by guest conductor Jan-Piet Knijff. With Fauré's immortal

Cantique de Jean Racine, Duruflé’s beautiful setting of the Lord’s Prayer and Franck's exuberant version of Psalm 150. Plus the Duruflé 'Pie Jesu' with Dianne Cotterill, Franck's classic Panis angelicus, more Franck, singing (and modulating!) forever!

All this and much, much, beaucoup more in our French music festival La Françoise! Oh, and on behalf of our dear Armidale moteliers: please don’t do a Peter Sellers on them when booking your accommodation for the festival!