For five hundred years Chambord, this “miracle of the world” said Brantôme, has amazed visitors.
After passing the 32-kilometer-long perimeter wall, traversing the long alley, they find themselves facing a dazzling work, which sums up all the spirit of the Renaissance.
The plan of the castle and its decorations, designed around the famous double spiral staircase inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, then lead them to the roof terraces.
Above, their gaze is on the formal gardens and the immense national forest.
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For ten years, on summer evenings, music has come to embellish this proposal, and give an extra soul to Chambord.
Flocks of musicians have already performed in the courtyard of the castle, which, it seems, allows exceptional sound distribution.
And tens of thousands of spectators listened to them, their heads under the stars, seated in the shade of mighty tufa stone walls.
This particular year of health crisis, the Chambord Festival will take on the appearance of a reunion with beauty and tranquility. Like the other years, it will also allow the castle to continue its long existence.
“When I arrived at the management of the estate, Chambord was a little isolated, even relegated to the middle of its large forest, which made it madly romantic,
remembers Jean d'Haussonville,
I understood, however, that it should be helped to continue to be alive. "
In its long history, Chambord, a work of art in itself, has obviously been a place of art and shows.
François Ier was the protector of music, at a pivotal period for this discipline.
Under Louis XIV, the theater made its debut, the premiere of Le
Bourgeois gentilhomme
, by Molière, having been performed in the halls of the castle in 1670. Beyond the pursuit of a tradition, it is an almost carnal bond between stones and men which continues today.
By creating a dialogue between aesthetics,
"the music makes it possible to reaffirm the status of a work of art of the monument, and brings out a deep truth",
adds Jean d'Haussonville.
"Create links between the past and today"
Whether or not he puts it like that, the public is asking for more. In cruising speed, more than a third of festival-goers are foreigners. This year, they will be overwhelmingly French (just like the visitors, who have taken the path to Chambord since May 19). For the latter, festivals, events, exhibitions and entertainment play a crucial role. They create as many opportunities to return to a monument that you think you know like the back of your hand, shift the experience, allow for the forging of close ties.
“By definition, visitors no longer apprehend the castle as we did during the Renaissance,”
explains Yannick Mercoyrol, director of cultural programming.
They visit it with their time and their language, and it is up to us to know how to create links between the past and today. ”
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Chambord, five centuries of Renaissance
On the eve of the opening of the tenth Chambord Festival, and after ten years of experience, Jean d'Haussonville is now entertaining the idea of bringing music inside the castle. Like the works of contemporary art that we put in relation to heritage, the president of the estate imagines musicians or small groups playing, alongside visitors strolling under the salamanders of François Ier. Why not? This new variation in the festival would participate in the challenges of cultural democratization.
"Preserving a monument classified or belonging to the world heritage of humanity is not a fixed attitude, but a perpetual questioning to make it accessible to the widest public", one
indicates to the field
.
A ticket for the Festival gives free access to the visit of the castle and the exhibition. Reservations: 02 54 50 50 40. www.chambord.org