Musique en Charolais-Brionnais Festival

Classical music serving Romanesque heritage

Created in 2005 by the Association Musique et Patrimoines en Charolais-Brionnais, this festival was born from a dual passion: chamber music and Romanesque heritage. Charolais-Brionnais, a territory in the south of Saône-et-Loire applying for UNESCO World Heritage status, hosts one of the highest concentrations of Romanesque churches in Europe. It is in these sanctuaries with remarkable acoustics that the festival unfolds its program, transforming each concert into an intimate encounter between musical art and architectural art.

An itinerant festival in ten churches

The Musique en Charolais-Brionnais Festival is inherently itinerant. Each edition takes over about ten towns in the territory: Mazille, Paray-le-Monial, Bois-Sainte-Marie, Charolles, Suin, Varenne-l'Arconce, Semur-en-Brionnais, Briant, Oyé, Dyo... The Romanesque churches, with their barrel vaults and sculpted capitals, offer exceptional acoustic conditions for chamber music, solo piano, and string ensembles.

Twenty international artists every summer

The festival invites about twenty leading international artists each year. Pianists, violinists, violists, cellists, and chamber ensembles perform programs ranging from Bach to contemporary music, including the great Romantics. The 2025 edition notably featured pianists Luis Magalhães and Nelson Goerner, violinists Floor Le Coultre and Tatiana Samouil, and the Arethusa Quartet.

Transmission and accessibility

Under the presidency of Didier Voïta, the association carries a strong ambition for the transmission and democratization of classical music in rural areas. The UnisSONS program offers an inclusive musical season throughout Saône-et-Loire, with free workshops and musical moments for children, families, EHPAD residents, and people with disabilities. The Camerata / Le Concert de Bourgogne, a professional ensemble of young musicians founded in 2021, complements this initiative by offering excellent training to emerging talents.