Les Heures Musicales de l'Abbaye de Lessay

In 1993, at the initiative of private owners of the Abbey of Lessay and regional institutions of Lower Normandy, the idea of ​​establishing an annual music festival in the grounds of the abbey church was born. The Musical Hours of the Abbey of Lessay.

The following year, another important decision is: to get to the church his voice through the construction of a modern organ, whose range allows to play live large parts of the repertoire. This is the JF Dupont organ builder who was in charge of building it.

Since those early organ recitals, the festival has largely achieved its fullness, expanding programming to large instrumental and vocal ensembles and chamber music. Today, the influence of Musical Hours of the Abbey of Lessay reached that of an international cultural event of high level. It attracts the most prestigious soloists and ensembles. The specificity of this festival is privileged to have immediately a high level of quality in its programming, while remaining close to its public claims. The predominance of Baroque music was a choice assumed insofar as it allowed several schools of interpretation to speak. Since 1993, a variety of performance styles from baroque could be heard in Lessay: pioneers like Michel Corboz to the most innovative performers as William Christie, Jordi Savall, Paul McCreesh, Fabio Biondi, Gerard Lesne Rinaldo Allesandrini, Jérémie Rhorer, Harry Christophers, Gabriel Garrido, Pierre Cao, Hervé Niquet, Joel Suhubiette, Céline Frisch, Jos Van Immerseel, Raphael Pichon, Jerome Correas, ...

A whole new generation of performers is widely expressed and continues year after year, to speak as part of this festival and Chiara Banchini, Christina Pluhar, Laurence Equilbey, vincent dumestre, Patrick Cohen-Akenine Jean Tubéry Martin Gester, Alain Buet, Jean-Marc Aymes, Patricia Petitbon, Philippe Jarrousky ... The desire to maintain and develop an ever stronger cohesion between spirituality of the place and the programming requirement goes hand in hand with the desire to actively participate in the musical life of the region by allowing the creation of contemporary works involving regional performers and young talents. Since 1993, many contemporary works were created within these walls, continuing to live with the public a wealth of inexhaustible wealth.

The recitals of soloists and chamber music took place in two locations around Lessay:

• In a manor of the sixteenth century, the manor of Gonfreville (until 2011)
• In the little church of Canville-la-Rocque, once necessary step on the road to Compostela and known for its famous frescoes (2015).

The Musical Hours of the Abbey of Lessay are held every year in July and August in the grounds of the abbey church of Lessay, the masterpiece of the best preserved Norman Romanesque architecture.

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