Le Figaro Nantes
It weighs just under 200 kg.
And is about two meters tall.
On the eve of the opening of the 30th edition of La Folle Journee de Nantes, a renowned classical music festival, the largest instrument has just arrived.
In room 800, whose name echoes the number of spectators it can accommodate, four pairs of arms unpack the precious Japanese drum.
Three other smaller Taiko accompany him, alongside percussion instruments whose canvases need to be tightened.
These bulky wooden objects flew ten days earlier from Tokyo, by cargo plane, via Air France.
After a break in Paris, they were transported to the city of Dukes by truck.
“We're almost a day into installation. This is the attraction, these artists have not come since 2019,”
explains Mokhtar El Mokhtari, manager of the Orphée room, about the Eitetsu and fu-un no kai ensemble, which will offer three performances.
“These are real shows.
There’s a whole play of light
,” continues the cheerful professional, before turning to the Asian artists who try to make him repeat Japanese expressions.
Japanese drums
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31 pianos, 4 harps, 2 organs...
On this Tuesday morning, in the bowels of the Congress City where the organizers walk up to 15 kilometers per day when the festival is in full swing, the atmosphere is warm.
Everyone is busy: technicians are setting up partitions which will be used to demarcate the spaces, while the instruments are starting to become more and more numerous.
It is not uncommon to come across a dismantled organ, a piano placed on a cart or mysterious accessories still in bubble wrap.
Transport requires incredible logistics.
“Two 19-ton trucks came to transport instruments, percussion and backline
(sound system, Editor’s note) ,
”
describes Justine Page, the production director.
Over five days, nearly 300 concerts are scheduled around a theme that will explore the origins of classical music.
At least 31 pianos, a harpsichord, four harps, two organs are expected on 500 square meters of stage.
Some artists perform with their own working tools.
Sitting behind his music stand, Jean Detraz is preparing to rehearse a Mozart piece with the Mannheim Chamber Orchestra.
Stretched, his bassoon reaches two meters:
“It can be dismantled into several parts
,” explains the man who comes from Angers and usually plays in the Pays de la Loire National Orchestra.
His wind instrument fits into a case equivalent to the size of a backpack.
So not bulky.
But the bassoonist has several strings to his bow and also plays the double bass.
When he uses it, the management takes care of the transfer.
Also read: Our back-to-school figures: the Itinerants, all singing
Temperature and humidity
Also at La Folle Journee, certain trips are supervised by the festival organization.
The dozens of pianos are transported by experts.
On the stage of Room 2000, which welcomes the biggest names, the youngest Arielle Beck - just 15 years old - practices on a Bechstein grand piano that Anne Oury has just tuned.
“The key allows you to turn the pegs and adjust the tensions
,” explains the head tuner.
With variations in temperature and humidity, she spends her days readjusting the sound of six pianos that are gradually being unpacked.
“We transport one by truck.
Each piano costs nearly 200,000 euros and weighs nearly 500 kg,”
she explains.
A few meters further on, outside, Thierry Loizeau has just undone the straps of a protected keyboard.
Using a cable, he is gently lowering a Steinway from an insulated truck.
“We have three service providers for the pianos
,” continues the festival’s technical and logistical production director Justine Page.
Some keyboards, smaller in scale, are installed in rehearsal rooms, or even in the artists' rooms.
In this anniversary edition, another little-known percussion instrument is expected: the lithopone.
More archaic, it will accompany the Calliopée ensemble.
These stones cut like rectangles, whose journey is managed by the group, weigh around sixty kilos.
Behind this stewardship mastered to the letter, the organizers ensure that the spectators do not notice anything:
“The public must be carried by the show”
, concludes Mokhtar El Mokhtari, in front of the Japanese drums whose rehearsal he impatiently awaits. .
Behind the scenes of La Folle Journee de Nantes
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