LES ANGES MUSICIENS DE LA CATHEDRALE SAINT-JULIEN

CONFERENCE - CONCERT: Discover and listen to the instruments of the Musician Angels of Saint-Julien Cathedral thanks to virtual prototyping and 3D digitisation. As part of Le Mans Sonore.

Conference associated with the concert by Les Anges Musiciens.

The manufacture of ancient musical instruments is based on iconography or ancient texts, which generally do not provide full details of the instrument's construction. In particular, certain geometric elements may not be explicit, and the types of wood used may be unknown. Virtual prototyping makes it possible to anticipate the behaviour of objects thanks to digital simulation based on physical models. In this context, ITEMM's Research and Innovation Department is applying this approach to test organological hypotheses, in order to assess, for example, the impact on the instrument of a change in wood species or geometry. These examples will be shown for different instruments as part of a 3D digitisation operation of the chapel, where each instrument image will be represented in three dimensions, taking into account the shape of the vault.

Les Anges Musiciens concerts
The vaults of Le Mans Cathedral's Chapel of the Virgin are painted with a number of musical angels, many of whom are carrying musical instruments. This exceptional heritage bears witness to the musical culture of their time. To set this celestial concert from the end of the 14th century to music, this concert-conference presents some of these instruments, some of which have been reconstructed: the mysterious chessboard with strings and keyboard, reconstructed by Maël ROBICHON, an ITEMM trainer, piano tuner and repairer, the guiterne, made by Ismaël GUESMI, an apprentice at ITEMM, the double flute, the lute, as well as the rebab and the psaltery.

A blend of music, history and innovation, this concert-conference reveals the reconstitution of forgotten instruments and invites you on a sensory journey where the past resonates with the present.

The ARS SONIC ensemble explores the repertoires of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, combining the demands of musicological research with the subtleties of interpretation. All styles are explored, from the chanson d'amour courtois to the chanson de geste, and from the chanson mariale to the chanson de ménage.