Sunday May 19 the Traveling Choir will celebrate its 20th anniversary and it will take place at the Arkea Arena in Bordeaux-Floirac. In a room more accustomed to welcoming Aya Nakamura, Patrick Bruel or the “L’Héritage Goldman” tour than an amateur choir. Even if, in twenty years, many of these amateurs have become professionals.
It will be in the “small” configuration of the place – 2,500 entries anyway – that Alexis…
Sunday May 19 the Traveling Choir will celebrate its 20th anniversary and it will take place at the Arkea Arena in Bordeaux-Floirac. In a room more accustomed to welcoming Aya Nakamura, Patrick Bruel or the “L’Héritage Goldman” tour than an amateur choir. Even if, in twenty years, many of these amateurs have become professionals.
It will be in the “small” configuration of the place – 2,500 entries anyway – that Alexis Duffaure, the musical director, intends to achieve. “We are lucky to have a lot of people who follow us. From one concert to another, there are faces that we find, people who know the punchlines of the sketches that we do next to what we sing. »
In twenty years of existence, the Traveling Choir has had plenty of time to make itself known, in fact. However, this ensemble of 34 singers was created without thinking of achieving such longevity. “We were all musicology students at the University of Bordeaux 3,” remembers Alexis Duffaure. Choral singing was part of our teaching. In 2003, we had to spend a weekend in the Basque Country, and to finance the trip, we organized two vocal concerts at the Sainte-Eulalie church: Basque songs, works by Zelenka (a Czech baroque composer, Editor’s note ) and excerpts from Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and “Magnificat”. The spectators liked it and we liked it, so we said to ourselves that we were going to continue. We created the association in 2004.”
By choosing this name “Traveling Choir”, which corresponded well to the identity of this ensemble, intended above all to see the country. England, Italy, Morocco, Armenia, Lebanon… Several tens of thousands of kilometers covered in twenty years. “But we also went to sing in small towns where the cultural offerings are not as important as in big cities. Between the Gironde and the Dordogne, we visited as many as possible. We give at least two concerts a month, getting paid out of pocket, except when it’s a municipality or a festival that schedules us. All money raised goes to fund our trips. Except this year, when we used it to rent the Arena. »
Group of friends
The Traveling Choir has in fact preserved a state of mind that existed at its creation, around the ideas of youth, sharing and colors (the choristers are all dressed in bright, colorful colors). “When we started, we were above all a group of friends. Seven of us were roommates in a big house where we designed the repertoire and the sketches and where we could rehearse. Our particularity was to sing everything by heart. It still is. »
Singing by heart allows you to sing everywhere: no scores or music stands to carry around. “And then, with this formula, the singers sing simply by looking at me and listening to each other. We have developed something quite strong between us, which even allows us to sing in the dark, focusing on our breathing. When we block one sense – sight – we strengthen the other four. »
Choirs who were not readers have also joined the ensemble over the years. “When I audition a candidate, the fact that he can decipher a score is obviously an argument, but if the voice is magnificent and the candidate is not a reader, I take him anyway. I found beautiful bass voices like that, rich in harmonics. Or fans of traditional music, particularly Bulgarian, who brought us interesting intonations. Some singers also play instruments that we have requested in addition to their voices: Tibetan bowl, duduk (a model of oboe used in Armenia, Editor’s note)…”
Beautiful people
The vocal ensemble has in any case seen many beautiful people pass through in two decades, including people who are today teachers in conservatories or at universities, luthiers, choristers of the Bordeaux Opera or the Radio France Choir, and even opera singers. “Some will travel back and forth from the Munich Opera to perform at the Arena. »
He was also invited to sing for the River Festival, in Bordeaux, in the Mohammed-V hall, in Morocco, in front of 5,000 people, or as part of the “Johnny symphonic” tour. Already at the Arena, at the request of Yvan Cassar, one of the most important arrangers in the world of French song, having worked with Mylène Farmer, Charles Aznavour, Jean-Jacques Goldman and, therefore, Johnny Hallyday. “He asked the singers if they knew who it was,” smiles Alexis Duffaure.
The association’s statutes assume that the said choristers are between 18 and 30 years old. “Renewal happens naturally. When they reach a certain age, singers have professional or family obligations that force them to leave. I then recruited someone young. »
“In Bulgaria we sang with the soloists of the Mysteries of Bulgarian Voices. We had tears in our eyes because it was so beautiful”
Alexis Duffaure is ultimately the only one to have remained in the vocal ensemble during these two decades. “When we started, the other members asked me to lead them… and they didn’t want me to stop! » Is it complicated to continue when you are also director of the girls’ choir of the Maîtrise de Bordeaux, choirmaster of Saint-André cathedral, artistic director of the Cathedra season and assistant to the choir director of the Opera? “It’s okay, I dropped out of my classes at the conservatory and university,” he smiles. But I don’t think I’ll be around for the 30 years. »
Great memories
In the meantime, he has great memories: “In Bulgaria, we sang with the soloists of the Mysteries of Bulgarian Voices. We had tears in our eyes because it was so beautiful. In Armenia, we performed during the ceremonies commemorating the 1915 genocide. It was so strong that no one then had the strength to go visit the museum on the subject. In Morocco, we stayed with locals and in the evening we had sort of jam sessions during which we sang our songs and they sang theirs. »
Memories that will come to mind during the concert at the Arena, in an evening in two parts: the first with the current Traveling Choir reinforced by a hundred former singers, the second with the reinforcement of 375 participants in a course organized by the association. 500 people on stage. “The soloists will be the same as when we started. Twenty years of my life will pass by.