In the Jardin du Bâtiment…
On the 3rd week of every month of August, you can visit the gardens of the 16th-century dwelling belonging to William Christie, the famous conductor and musical director behind the festival, Dans les Jardins de William Christie. Let yourself be carried off daydreaming among the yew trees and rose bushes, the outdoor theatre and its chinoiseries, the boxwood parterres, the terraced avenues lined with lime trees, the American garden and the lounge-style kitchen garden.
The water mirror, surrounded by plane trees, completes the scene inspired by, among others, the Italian and French manneristic, Baroque-style gardens. It is here in the Jardin du Bâtiment, that the greatest Baroque works are performed.
There’s a magic place in the heart of South Vendée Atlantic where, every year at the close of summer, time stands still. Cowering deep in the woods, hidden behind simple hedges of boxwood and laurel, a majestic 16th-century Vendée-style dwelling emerges, just when you’re least expecting it, with its delicate French gardens of Italian inspiration. Dotted around are an old-fashioned kitchen garden, wickerwork items, detours and short cuts, Médici vases and water features… The scene is set.Stéphanie, a romantic music-lover
…Dans les Jardins de William Christie
Festival
Between musical walks, family workshops, candlelit concerts, English literature and meditation, discover Baroque music performed by top international singers and musicians! Orchestrated by William Christie and conducted by Paul Anew. An absolute marvel!
As the last rays of the sun try to shimmer on the main pond that has become the evening’s stage, the recital may commence. The scene is exalted by a dance of will-o-the-wisps. A magical extravaganza that leaves me trembling in this lush green temple devoted to musical art. The subdued ambience is an invitation to dream. Time seems to stand still. The silence is golden. Suddenly, the maestro asks for the “La”! The music whispers, playfully expresses itself, and amplifies along with your heartbeat. The voices ramp up, impassioned, to the tempo of a British rock opera, Baroque style, that leaves me in awe! It worked like magic!
Stéphanie, a romantic music-lover
On Wednesday February 7, 2018, William Christie was named world ambassador for French culture by Le Bureau Export, in the presence of French culture minister Françoise Nyssen. A few days earlier, on January 29, 2018, the first board meeting of the Fondation Les Arts Florissants – William Christie was held to formalize the creation of this new legal entity.
The Fondation Les Arts Florissants – William Christie was officially enacted by government decree on November 24, 2017 with “public utility” status under French law. Its mission is to perpetuate the work of Les Arts Florissants in the fields of baroque music and the art of gardens artistically, pedagogically and with respect to heritage.
The creation of the Fondation Les Arts Florissants – William Christie is the culmination of several years’ endeavor to establish a permanent institution to perpetuate the life’s work of William Christie and Les Arts Florissants in the fields of baroque music and the art of gardens. The Foundation is unique in the French cultural landscape, uniting as it does an international musical ensemble with a heritage site (William Christie’s Thiré estate, in the Vendée, which became a “Centre Culturel de Rencontre” in 2017). It is also the only organization of its type to enjoy the status of a foundation under French law. This new legal entity will take over all the activities of Les Arts Florissants, not only artistically and pedagogically, but also with respect to the preservation and management of the Foundation’s material and immaterial heritage — the buildings and gardens in Thiré as well as the recordings and publications of Les Arts Florissants. The granting of “public-uti-lity” foundation status by the government is, moreover, an active vote of confidence on the part of the French state. Far more than a simple change in administrative status, the Foundation is a new adventure to ensure the long-term, coherent continuation of William Christie and Les Arts Florissants’ work.
The Thiré estate : The Logis du Bâtiment and its Gardens
In 1985, William Christie acquired a late 16th-century manor house (known as the Logis du Bâtiment) and 4 hectares of land in Thiré, in the Vendée region of western France. Since then, in tandem with his international musical career, he has been pursuing his other passion: the creation of an ambitious garden imagined as a place for music, around the house which he rescued from ruin. The delightful and eclectic result – a homage to the apogee of the art of gardens in 16th-century Italy and 17th-century France – has been hailed by critics and experts, and in 2006 was listed on the French supplementary inventory of historic monuments. This unique site, which is undergoing constant transformation, is the setting every summer for the baroque-music festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie.
The quartier des artistes (The Artist’s Quarter)
In the heart of the village of Thiré, Les Arts Florissants have established a permanent and international cultural and artistic center. Known as the Quartier des Artistes, and located a short walk from William Christie’s house and gardens, it offers residencies to musicians, musicologists and young landscape designers, as well as a program of concerts, workshops, discussions and public rehearsals. The winners of the Maryvonne Pinault Ephemeral Garden Prize (for young landscape designers) have been invited there for creative residencies since 2015, and the biennial academy for young singers, Le Jardin des Voix, took up residence there in 2017.
