Le Coffret d'Auzon

Le Coffret d'Auzon: When a Millennial Artifact Inspires a Festival

The Festival Le Coffret d'Auzon was born from a bold cultural initiative: to bring back to life, through music and art, the Coffret d'Auzon, an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon artifact with fascinating origins. This exceptional object, carved from whalebone on the shores of the North Sea, traveled to Brioude before being found in Auzon in the 19th century. Today, shared between the British Museum in London and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, the casket fascinates with its multicultural character, its panels depicting Roman, Christian, Jewish, and Germanic scenes.

The AuzonToujours association, driven by the desire to promote hospitality and contribute to the cultural and tourist dynamism of its territory, created this festival to symbolically bring the casket back to its adopted city and give it a voice within the setting of the Collégiale Saint-Laurent.

A Musical Program Between Past and Present

The festival offers three evenings of concerts in the Collégiale Saint-Laurent, each exploring an aspect of the casket's history:

• The 8th Century — The Era of the Casket's Creation: Benjamin Bagby, a world authority on Early Medieval music, performs texts and travel songs from the end of the first millennium (Beowulf, The Wanderer, The Snow Child), in duet with virtuoso clarinetist Carjez Gerretsen.
• The 19th Century — The Era of Discovery: a string sextet of young musicians from the CNSMD de Lyon presents an olfactory recital of chamber music, performing works by Grieg, Britten, and Tchaikovsky that transport the audience from Florence to London via Scandinavia, following the casket's trail.
• A Middle Ages Revisited by Today's Minds: the duo Jac Berrocal (free jazz trumpeter and singer) and Vincent Epplay offer a striking moment of electro-medieval, creating sounds from bones, trumpets, bells, horns, and voices, followed by UtopikAuzon by poet Antoine Simon and a festive procession by the Banda de Marcoussis through the alleys of the old town.

The "Coffrets d'Auzon" Exhibition: Thirty Artists Reinvent the Casket

Alongside the concerts, the festival hosts the "Coffrets d'Auzon" exhibition, presented at the Chapelle Notre-Dame du Portail and the Galerie Le Fumoir. Thirty artists and craftspeople have designed their own interpretation of the Coffret d'Auzon, respecting the original dimensions of 23 × 19 × 13 cm. The works showcase a wide diversity of techniques: cattail boxes with 3D printed locks, conceptual crosses, embroidery, lace, and many other original creations. The exhibition is freely accessible and offers guided tours in French, English, and Spanish.

An Exceptional Heritage Anchorage

Auzon, classified as a Petite Cité de Caractère, provides a remarkable setting for the festival. The Collégiale Saint-Laurent, a jewel of Romanesque architecture, houses its own unsuspected treasures: two Merovingian caskets from the 8th century were recently discovered within its 12th-century cross, and are currently undergoing scientific analysis. The citadel perched on its rock, the medieval alleys, and the shaded squares create an ideal backdrop for this festival that dialogues between past and present.