Dans les Jardins de William Christie Festival

A Unique Baroque Festival

The Dans les Jardins de William Christie festival was born in 2012 from a meeting between musical passion and garden art. Created by the renowned harpsichordist and conductor William Christie, founder of the ensemble Les Arts Florissants, this festival each summer takes over the remarkable gardens he has shaped since 1985 around a 17th-century manor house in Thiré, in the heart of Vendée.

The Jardins du Bâtiment: An Exceptional Setting

Classified as Historic Monuments since 2006 and labeled Jardin remarquable (Remarkable Garden) since 2004, the Jardins du Bâtiment cover 12 hectares of extraordinary landscape diversity. Inspired by French and Italian gardening traditions of the 17th and 18th centuries, they feature a succession of courtyards, ponds, terraces, cloisters, pine groves, yew topiary theaters, an orchard, a vegetable garden, and meadows. William Christie describes them as "an artist's garden, whimsical, full of poetic license.".

A Demanding Yet Accessible Baroque Program

Under the artistic direction of William Christie and Paul Agnew, the festival offers over 120 events in one week: evening concerts in the church of Thiré, musical walks through the gardens, family workshops, candlelit meditations, and opera performances. The program highlights French and European baroque repertoire with works by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Henry Purcell, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Claudio Monteverdi.

A Launchpad for Young Artists

Each year, the festival hosts the laureates of Le Jardin des Voix, the international academy for young singers from Les Arts Florissants, as well as students from the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. This educational mission offers the public the privilege of discovering emerging talents on the global baroque scene in an atmosphere of intimacy and wonder.

An Event Rooted in its Territory

Co-produced by Les Arts Florissants and the Department of Vendée, the festival attracts over 10,000 visitors each year and contributes to the cultural and tourist influence of southern Vendée. In 2017, William Christie donated his property to the Fondation Les Arts Florissants, thus perpetuating this unique place where music, heritage, and nature harmoniously combine.