Callas Ancient Music Festival

Callas, a hilltop village in the heart of the Haut-Var

Callas is a Provençal village perched at 400 meters altitude, in the eastern Maures massif, in the heart of the Haut-Var. Its medieval cobbled streets, stone houses, shady squares with plane trees, and panoramic views of the Var plain and the Prealps make Callas one of the most picturesque villages in the department. The commune has about 2,000 inhabitants and belongs to the Cœur du Var intercommunal community.

At the top of the village stands the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church, a 17th-century Baroque edifice with ochre stone walls, topped by a slender bell tower visible from afar in the surrounding scrubland. The interior of the church, sober and elegant, has remarkable natural acoustics: the ancient stone, the barrel vault, and the modest size of the building create a warm and intimate sound space, particularly conducive to Baroque music. It is in this exceptional setting that the Callas Ancient Music Festival is held each summer.

Thirty years of Baroque music in the Haut-Var

The Callas Ancient Music Festival was born in the late 1980s from the passion of a group of local residents and music lovers from the Var region who wanted to bring great music to their village. For over thirty years, this modest yet demanding festival has proven that musical quality is not the exclusive domain of large cities. The 33rd edition was held in July 2025, confirming the longevity and influence of an event that has built a loyal following of connoisseurs from all over the South-East of France.

The festival focuses on Baroque music, a musical period roughly spanning from 1600 to 1750, which saw the birth of the most influential musical forms in Western history: opera, oratorio, concerto, sonata, suite. The composers programmed are the great masters of European Baroque: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), the universal genius of Leipzig whose work encompasses all musical genres; Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), the Venetian "Red Priest", a violin virtuoso and creator of the Baroque concerto; Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759), a German-British composer, master of oratorio and opera; and many other Baroque composers such as Georg Philipp Telemann, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Henry Purcell, Arcangelo Corelli, or Claudio Monteverdi.

Nationally renowned ensembles and soloists

The artistic programming of the Callas Ancient Music Festival features ensembles specializing in Baroque music and renowned soloists. The ensembles perform on period instruments — harpsichord, viola da gamba, lute, traverso (Baroque flute), Baroque oboe, natural trumpet — or on period copies, respecting historically informed performance practices (HIP). This concern for musicological authenticity, combined with contemporary artistic sensitivity, gives the festival's concerts a special flavor, both scholarly and lively.

The concerts bring together an audience passionate about ancient music in a space of a few hundred seats, creating a rare closeness between musicians and listeners. The small size of the Callas church, often an advantage over large concert halls, allows for an acoustic and emotional intimacy that few other venues can offer for this repertoire.

A festival serving the rural territory

The Callas Ancient Music Festival is exemplary in many ways. It demonstrates that rural areas can be centers of high culture and artistic excellence. It contributes to the tourist appeal of the Haut-Var by attracting music lovers from afar for a few days, who discover the village and its region. It creates social cohesion by bringing together residents of Callas, neighboring towns, and visitors from all over France around a shared musical passion.

The festival is organized by a local association of passionate volunteers, with the support of the Callas town hall, the Var Departmental Council, and private partners. Its operation relies on the commitment of volunteers and the generosity of local stakeholders, making it a model of cultural festival rooted in its territory.