Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Various slow movements
Ludwig von Beethoven: Largo of Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 (Spring)
Sylvie Sagot-Duvauroux: Piano
Laurent Lovie: Violon
After two musically terrific and geographically very convenient concerts in Dieulefit during the week, last Sunday morning my mom and I decided to go to nearby Comps, and more precisely its adorable Romanesque chapel—officially the église de Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul—standing proudly on its hill among the surrounding fields since the 12th century, for one of Comps Historique (Historical Comps) association’s numerous musical events. And who cares if we had to put up with freezing temperatures and powerful gusts under, admittedly, a bright blue sky, because we arrived way too early (Thanks, mom!) and understandably had to wait for the church door to open?
The perspective of hearing pieces by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven in such an eerily beautiful place was just too irresistible to pass, especially since the concert would feature Sylvie Sagot-Duvauroux, who is not only a highly praised local pianist, but also the founder of the E il piano va association, whose mission involves taking her piano everywhere and reach as many unsuspecting music lovers as possible. Even better, she was going to be joined by violinist and comedian Laurent Lovie, who has made it a habit to join her for new intriguing endeavors.
Apparently, a lot of people had felt the same, including hard-core regulars who looked familiar and out-of-town visitors who looked curious, as the small space filled up quickly—all the better to keep one another warm, I suppose—for this exciting little Sunday apéritif.
The “program” we were handed inside was not an actual program, but a flyer containing the musicians’ bios and not much else. So before getting the ball rolling, Lovie explained to us that they had chosen slow movements from various sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach to begin with, and invited us to just go with flow and enjoy the performance, which sounded just about the most appropriate thing to do on an unusually chilly Sunday morning in the middle of summer.
And in fact, as played by those two remarkably talented and wonderfully in sync musicians, the music turned out to be brilliantly thoughtful, melancholic or tender, especially once an increasingly frustrated Lovie at last asked, nicely but firmly, the numerous over-enthusiastic members of the audience to stop clapping between the movements, and more particularly during the movements. And sure enough, things got even better after this significant improvement.
After Bach, we moved on to slow movements from various sonatas by our dear Mozart, and it did not take long for the little chapel to resonate with some carefully hand-picked treats from the Viennese master’s vast and magnificent œuvre. Maybe it was the intimate setting, maybe it was the gifted duo, but this substantial series of various pieces quickly turned into a truly delightful set filled with quick wit, cool elegance and genuine warmth.
The last piece of the kind of official program, the only one that for some reason got a proper introduction, was the unabashedly radiant Adagio molto espressivo of Ludwig von Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, or Spring sonata, whose delicately lyricism felt downright optimistic on Sunday morning, as if it was meant to emphasize the irrepressible forces of nature that bring the world annual rebirth no matter what. And we happily gobbled it all up.
And then, just as we thought we were done, the generous musicians decided to wrap things up for good with a delicious encore that a teenage Mozart wrote while staying in Milan. Smart, fun, and already incredibly accomplished, of course, this much appreciated parting gift what just what we needed to perk up before returning to the cold, cold world outside.
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