The European Renaissance Music Festival

16th edition – 24th, 25th and 26th September 2021

Started in 2005, the European Renaissance Music Festival at Clos Lucé, after nearly fifty concerts, is now one of the biggest early music events in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Its originality lies in the fact that, from the very first concert, the festival has showcased musicians and ensembles of international renown as well as emerging talents. The three concerts that make up the 2021 programme will take place on the large stage of the Halle muséographique, located in the grounds of the château.

Homage to Josquin des Prez, the greatest composer of the Renaissance era!

As part of the 500 ^th anniversary of his death, the festival is honouring Josquin des Prez, considered by Rabelais to be “the greatest composer of the Renaissance” and by Martin Luther “the master of the notes”. In the early 1480s, Josquin des Prez lived in Milan in the service of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. The famous Portrait of a Musician by Leonardo da Vinci dates from this period and the sitter for which may have been des Prez.

Friday, 24 September at 8.30pm
“Riposta”, performed by La Guilde des Mercenaires
Conducted by Adrien Mabire

The first concert is an opportunity to discover the music of Josquin des Prez and the French songs of the Renaissance which were exported to Italy, and in particular to Venice, in the 16 th century. Passionate about early wind instruments, the cornett player Adrien Mabire has assembled a group of instrumentalists, all of whom are specialists in Italian music from the Seicento.

Musicians:
Claire Lefilliâtre, canto
Adrien Mabire, cornetts, conductor
Arnaud Bretecher, trombones
Pierre Gallon, claviers

Saturday, 25 September at 8.30pm
“Suave melodia - Monteverdi da camera”, performed by La Ninna
Conducted by Yoann Moulin

A programme full of Italian effervescence. The young La Ninna ensemble will immerse us in the rich and diverse intellectual world of 17 th century Italy, an immersion somewhere between polyphony and improvisation, focused primarily on music by Monteverdi and Frescobaldi. Yoann Moulin, on harpsichord, will perform works focused on the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi; he will be accompanied by musicians from his “La Ninna” ensemble and by the young soprano soloist Eugénie Lefebvre.

Musicians:
Eugénie Lefebvre, soprano
Adrien Mabire, cornett
Jérôme Huille, cello
Yoann Moulin, harpsichord

Sunday, 26 September, at 3.30pm
“Mille regrets de vous habandonner” (A Thousand Regrets at Deserting You),
performed by the Ensemble Clément Janequin
Conducted by Dominique Visse

The countertenor Dominique Visse and his Ensemble Clément Janequin have chosen a selection of songs by Josquin des Prez, taken from the ensemble’s Septiesme Livre de Chansons recording released by Ricercar in January 2021. The programme will present a collection of around twenty secular songs published twenty years after his death.

A thoughtful and subtle immersion in the intoxicating songs of Josquin des Prez, the concert, carried by a mixture of expression, clarity and dynamic musical lines, typical of the ensemble, provides a finale full of contrasts to bring the festival to a close. The programme is interspersed with masterpieces well known to fans of des Prez. Songs such as the famous Mille regrets de vous habandonner (the favourite song of Emperor Charles V, so the legend goes), whose posterity is evoked here by two posthumous instrumental transcriptions.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

• Seated performance in the Halle muséographique
(doors open from 8pm on the 24th and 25th, and from 3pm on the 26 th)
• 15€ per concert (adult / child): online ticket office here
• 12€ per concert for holders of the “Ambassadeur du Clos Lucé” card: online ticket office here
• The Auberge du Prieuré is open for dinner on the 24 th and 25th (at 7pm) and for lunch on the 26 th. Reservations: 02 47 57 69 01 / sieur.sausin@free.fr
• Face masks must be worn on entering the site and throughout the concerts

Château du Clos Lucé gets into the festive spirit this Christmas

1st December 2021 to 15th January 2022

For the Christmas and New Year festivities, the Château du Clos Lucé is giving visitors an extra colourful tour of Leonardo da Vinci’s former home, which will be decked out in all its seasonal finery! From the Nativity scene in the chapel to the large Renaissance hall decorated with the quintessential fir tree, experience the spirit of Christmas throughout your visit. In the kitchen, the wood fire is crackling just like it would have done on those winter evenings when Leonardo da Vinci would keep warm beside the hearth.

Leonardo da Vinci, Painter and Architect Galleries

Since June 2021

This spring, the Château du Clos Lucé – Parc Leonardo da Vinci is excited to be opening additional galleries dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci, painter and architect.

LEONARDO DA VINCI PAINTER GALLERY

The 17 masterpieces produced by Leonardo da Vinci will be projected onto the walls and ceiling of the ground floor gallery thanks to digital technologies. Along with the preparatory drawings on show, they create an original and spectacular exhibition that visitors can engage directly with. This imaginary museum presents treasures from the Louvre in Paris, the Uffizi in Florence, the Vatican Museums, the National Gallery in London, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the National Museum in Kraków, the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and immerses visitors into the Tuscan master’s painted works.

Faces, smiles and hands, perspective, the Last Supper, the blue horizons of the landscapes on his canvases all intertwine in this fascinating and lyrical circular journey through his artistic creativity.

LEONARDO DA VINCI ARCHITECT GALLERY

This exhibition offers a fun and educational tour of the achievements of Leonardo da Vinci the civil, religious and military architect, town planner and talented stage director of spectacular festivities. Facsimiles, drawings, life-size models, digital tables and 3D animation bring these disciplines to life.

In the multimedia room on the first floor, come and explore a 3D reconstruction of the Royal Palace of Romorantin designed by Leonardo da Vinci for King Francis I, through a video game created specially for the exhibition.

When: since June 2021

Where: in Leonardo da Vinci's park

Times: 10am - 8.30pm (September and October 2021)

Price: included with your admission ticket

To whet your appetite, watch our podcast and visit galleries from your own home! (in French).

Leonardo da Vinci and France

Le Château du Clos Lucé, the link between Italian and French Renaissance

Drawing on new scientific contributions, this exhibition throws light on the fascinating relationships between Leonardo da Vinci and three Kings of France over a 10-year period.

Guided through a series of richly illustrated themed exhibits — from royal commissions and feats of engineering to sumptuous festivities and final drawings, visitors will discover a multitude of projects built or conceived by the Italian master during his time spent living at Clos Lucé in Amboise.

• Halle Muséographique (In Leonardo da Vinci's park) : 10am - 6pm
• This exhibition has an additional charge to the general admission : 5€ adult / 3€ concessions (job seeker, large family...) / 1€ children (7-18 years old) and student / Free under 7 years old
• Tickets for a self-guided visit of the castle, the park, Leonardo da Vinci painter and architect galleries including Leonardo da Vinci and France exhibition are available here

The exhibition will be closed from 22th September to 4th October 2021 included. Many thanks for your understanding.