Festival Musique et Mémoire
Baroque enchants the Southern Vosges
About Musique et Mémoire
Thirty years of baroque music in the Southern Vosges
Founded in 1994 by a handful of enthusiasts, the Musique et Mémoire festival has established itself as one of the major events for baroque music in France. Each year, from mid-July to early August, about fifteen concerts take place in historically and beautifully significant venues: the Saint-Martin chapel in Faucogney-et-la-Mer, the Saint-Pierre basilica in Luxeuil-les-Bains, the Cherry Country Ecomuseum in Fougerolles-Saint-Valbert, and many other gems scattered throughout the wooded valleys of Haute-Saône.
A unique natural and heritage setting
The festival draws its uniqueness from its territorial roots. The Southern Vosges offer an incomparable setting: deep forests, sandstone villages, ancient abbeys, and Romanesque chapels form a landscape where music resonates with stone and nature. Each concert is a total sensory experience, where the exceptional acoustics of the venues enhance the sounds of viols, harpsichords, theorboes, and baroque voices.
Artists of international renown
Over the years, Musique et Mémoire has welcomed the biggest names in the baroque scene: Le Poème Harmonique, Les Traversées Baroques, Les Timbres, a nocte temporis (Reinoud Van Mechelen), François Lazarevitch and Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, Vincent Peirani, and Bruno Procopio. The Burgundian ensemble Les Traversées Baroques is in residence at the festival for the 2024-2026 period, enriching the program with original creations and bold musical dialogues.
An itinerant and friendly festival
Musique et Mémoire is an itinerant festival: spectators travel from village to village, discovering a new venue and a new program at each stop. This itinerancy fosters encounters between artists and the public, in a warm and intimate atmosphere. Guided tours and conferences complement the offering, allowing for a better understanding of the heritage of the Southern Vosges and the world of early music.
National recognition
A member of France Festivals and supported by the Ballons des Vosges Regional Natural Park, the festival enjoys growing recognition from the specialized press and music lovers. With over thirty editions to its credit, Musique et Mémoire has transformed this little-known corner of Franche-Comté into a leading cultural destination for baroque music enthusiasts. The festival is artistically directed by Fabrice Creux and run by the Musique et Mémoire Association, based in Adelans (Haute-Saône).
Musique et Mémoire — edition 2026
The 33rd edition of the Musique et Mémoire festival unfolds from July 17 to August 2, 2026, with 17 concerts in the Southern Vosges. A grand opening at the Saint-Pierre Basilica in Luxeuil-les-Bains with Rameau's opera-ballet Pygmalion (1748) by the Masques ensemble (directed by Olivier Fortin). Last year of residency for Les Traversées Baroques, first appearance of L'Achéron by François Joubert-Caillet, and a Franco-Swiss "historic organs" cycle.
2026 Edition — 33rd festival
The 33rd edition of the Musique et Mémoire festival unfolds from July 17 to August 2, 2026, offering 17 concerts across the Southern Vosges. The opening is entrusted to Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera-ballet Pygmalion (1748), performed by the Masques ensemble under the direction of Olivier Fortin at the Saint-Pierre Basilica in Luxeuil-les-Bains.
Last residency of Les Traversées Baroques
This edition marks the last year of residency for the Les Traversées Baroques ensemble, which offers an XXL program: Le Combat des chef.fes (a musical joust with the Artifices ensemble), A tre cornetti in Belfort, Regards Croisés in Écromagny, and a deep dive into Monteverdi's sublime Vespers of the Blessed Virgin (1610) as the festival's closing event.
"Historic Organs" Cycle
The organ is particularly celebrated in 2026 with a Franco-Swiss cycle "Line of Remarkable Organs". Jean-Charles Ablitzer and the Barbaroco ensemble bring Spanish Renaissance music into dialogue in Grandvillars (July 23), while Jean-Charles Ablitzer pays tribute to Jean-Philippe Rameau at the Saint-Pierre Basilica in Luxeuil-les-Bains (August 1).
Premieres and Creations
L'Achéron by François Joubert-Caillet participates in the festival for the first time, highlighting the folk roots of Italian Renaissance music (O Villanella in Servance, Folias! in Faucogney). The Les Timbres ensemble paints portraits of François Couperin, Antoine Forqueray, Marin Marais, and Jean-Philippe Rameau (Carré d'As, Faucogney). The Tumbleweeds ensemble presents its first recording, a Venetian stroll. Trio SR9 revisits Bach for marimbas and percussion in Fougerolles.
Programme Musique et Mémoire 2026
Friday, July 17, 2026
- 9:00 PM — Ensemble Masques (directed by Olivier Fortin): Pygmalion (Rameau) · Saint-Pierre Basilica, Luxeuil-les-Bains
Saturday, July 18, 2026
- 5:30 PM — L'Achéron (François Joubert-Caillet): O Villanella · Servance
Sunday, July 19, 2026
- 11:00 AM — L'Achéron: Folias! · Faucogney-et-la-Mer
- 4:00 PM / 9:00 PM — Laurent Stewart: Bach Partitas and epistolary music · Héricourt
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
- 5:00 PM — Ensemble Les Timbres: Carré d'As (Couperin, Forqueray, Marais, Rameau) · Faucogney-et-la-Mer
Thursday, July 23, 2026
- 8:00 PM — Jean-Charles Ablitzer (organ) and Barbaroco ensemble: Battalas y danzas — Light and splendor of the Spanish Renaissance · Grandvillars
Friday, July 24, 2026
- 9:00 PM — Ensemble Masques: Bach Cantatas (BWV 80, 81, 39) · Lure
Saturday, July 25, 2026
- 3:00 PM — Sue-Ying Koang (violin): The violin at the Dresden court · Plancher-Bas
Sunday, July 26, 2026
- 11:00 AM — Sue-Ying Koang: Sonatas and Partita for solo violin by Bach (BWV 1001-1005) · Lure
- 5:00 PM — Ensemble Artifices and Les Traversées Baroques: Le Combat des chef.fes · Corravillers
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
- 5:00 PM — Ensemble Tumbleweeds: Venetian Stroll · Fontenois-la-Ville
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
- 9:00 PM — Trio SR9: Bach for marimbas and percussion · Fougerolles
Thursday, July 30, 2026
- 9:00 PM — Les Traversées Baroques: A tre cornetti · Belfort
Friday, July 31, 2026
- 5:00 PM — Les Traversées Baroques: Regards Croisés · Écromagny
Saturday, August 1, 2026
- 9:00 PM — Jean-Charles Ablitzer (organ): Homage to Rameau · Saint-Pierre Basilica, Luxeuil-les-Bains
Sunday, August 2, 2026
- 11:00 AM — Christine Publeau (viola da gamba): Clair-Obscur (solo recital) · Melisey
- 9:00 PM — Les Traversées Baroques: Vespers of the Blessed Virgin (Monteverdi, 1610) — closing concert · Saint-Pierre Basilica, Luxeuil-les-Bains
Highlights Musique et Mémoire 2026
- Exceptional opening with Rameau's Pygmalion by the Masques ensemble at the Saint-Pierre Basilica in Luxeuil-les-Bains
- Last year of residency for Les Traversées Baroques (2024-2026 cycle), apotheosis with Monteverdi's Vespers of the Virgin as the closing event
- Franco-Swiss "historic organs" cycle with Jean-Charles Ablitzer (Grandvillars, Luxeuil)
- First appearance at the festival of L'Achéron by François Joubert-Caillet
- 17 concerts in 13 heritage sites in the Southern Vosges (Luxeuil, Faucogney, Lure, Belfort, Fougerolles, Melisey, Servance, Héricourt, Grandvillars, Plancher-Bas, Corravillers, Fontenois-la-Ville, Écromagny)
Prices Musique et Mémoire 2026
Practical information — Musique et Mémoire
Access
Main venue: Chapelle Saint-Martin, Faucogney-et-la-Mer (70310). The festival is itinerant and takes place in numerous sites in the Southern Vosges (Luxeuil-les-Bains, Fougerolles-Saint-Valbert, Melisey, etc.).
By car: From Vesoul, take the D6 then the D486 towards Faucogney-et-la-Mer (approx. 40 min). From Belfort or Lure, follow the N19 then the D486.
By train: Lure station (TER Bourgogne-Franche-Comté), then transfer by car (25 min).
Prices
Standard concert: 15 EUR (full price), 5 EUR (reduced price: under 18s, students, job seekers), 12 EUR (members).
Premium concerts: 20 EUR (full price), 5 EUR (reduced), 15 EUR (members).
4-concert pass: 60 EUR. 6-concert pass: 90 EUR. Tutti subscription (17 concerts): 238 EUR.
Ticketing
Online booking at musique-et-memoire.vostickets.fr, by phone at 06 40 87 41 39, or on-site 40 minutes before each concert (subject to availability).
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Where does it take place — Musique et Mémoire
Chapelle Saint-Martin et sites patrimoniaux des Vosges du Sud
14 rue des Grands Bois, 70310 Faucogney-et-la-Mer