Joseph Handel
Johann Sebastian Bach
Gabriel Fauré
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Astor Piazzolla: Nightclub 1900
Astor Piazzolla: Bordello 1900
Alexandra Bidi: Harp
Following a juicy tip from reliable music-loving friends of ours in Dieulefit, last Saturday, in the still very warm hours of the early evening, my mom and I ventured to the Prieuré Saint Blaise, a tastefully crumbling-down 12th-century priory, in which a dignified chapel still proudly stands among the vineyards covering the rolling landscape around Montbrison-sur-Lez, a tiny village whose one and only claim to fame is, unsurprisingly, wine.
That’s where the very young and very busy Le Prieuré Musical (The Musical Priory) association had organized a low-key but obviously very popular pay-as-you-wish harp festival this summer, and we made it just in time to catch the third and last concert of the season. Parking signs and programs would have made the experience even more pleasant, but the hearts and minds of the association’s leaders are in the right place, and we wish them well.
Just a look at her bio and you can tell that New York City-born and internationally raised harpist Alexandra Bidi is an unstoppable force of nature despite her young age. And, as if she were not content with the prestigious collaborations, prominent awards and high praise she’s been steadily collecting, she is also working towards her master’s in applied mathematics!
But on Saturday evening, her focus and ours were purely on the music, and she did manage to produce beautiful sounds from her imposing, elegantly decorated harp. Since no programs were handed out and Bidi’s oral presentation half-way through was fast, I was not able to remember all the names of the works she played, but I sure enjoyed hearing them.
During the first part of the concert, in which she performed solo, she effortlessly tackled traditional works by Handel and Bach as well as more modern pieces by Spohr and Fauré. Expertly produced by her indefatigable and remarkably nimble fingers, the harp’s glistening sounds were gorgeously diaphanous and deliciously refreshing, and we all relished the instrument’s apparently conflicting yet strangely complementary shows of force and delicateness.
For the second part of the concert, she brought in a dear friend of hers who also happens to be a talented flutist, and just like that, we unexpectedly got to double our listening pleasure. And there was lots of pleasure to be had indeed as they treated us to fun adventures into 18th-century Austria and 20th-century Argentina, in which Mozart’s classical elegance and endless inventiveness beautifully contrasted with Piazzola’s more rhythmical, tango-infused endeavors.
After the performance ended on that uplifting note, this very enjoyable escapade to the Prieuré Saint Blaise concluded with a casual wine tasting event that featured the products of the vineyards surrounding us just as they were bathing in the golden light of the red sunset. Now that certainly reconciled me with going out on Saturday night.
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