Festival Agapé

Festival Agapé: Sacred Music at the Heart of Reims' Heritage

The Festival Agapé is an international festival of sacred music and art that has been regularly held in Reims since 2013. Founded in 1992 in Geneva by Father Benoît-Emmanuel Peltereau-Villeneuve, the festival was replicated in Reims thanks to the mobilization of former classmates and their networks, finding in the City of Coronations an ideal setting for sacred music.

Reims, Land of Coronations and Sacred Music

The choice of Reims is not insignificant: the city of royal coronations, the city of Franco-German reconciliation in 1952, the City of Peace, Reims offers the Festival Agapé exceptional venues for sacred music. Concerts take place in the Basilica of Saint-Remi, the Notre-Dame Cathedral, and other heritage buildings in the city, whose acoustics sublime baroque and classical works.

An Excellent Program

The Festival Agapé features internationally renowned ensembles and artists in the repertoire of sacred and baroque music. Among the artists who have performed in Reims: the ensemble La Fenice, Jordi Savall, the Cappella Mediterranea, the Namur Chamber Choir, the Reims Cathedral Choir. The programs explore the vast repertoire of sacred music, from Monteverdi's Vespers of the Blessed Virgin to Bach's cantatas, including Vivaldi, Pergolesi, and the sacred compositions of baroque South America.

A Traveling Festival

The Festival Agapé operates on a principle of alternation between several cities: Geneva, Reims, and other cities such as Troyes, Charleville-Mézières, and La Rochelle. This traveling nature helps to build links between territories and to keep sacred music alive in various heritage sites.

A Spirit of Peace and Sharing

True to the meaning of the Greek word agapè—unconditional and fraternal love—the festival carries a message of peace, dialogue, and encounter. Sacred music is conceived here as a vector of reconciliation and communion between peoples, in the spirit that presided over the Franco-German reconciliation celebrated in Reims in 1962 by General de Gaulle and Chancellor Adenauer.