SOIRÉES Estivales Thursday, July 20: Voice trio & organ
Thu. 13 Jul. / ÉvènementsThe Association des grandes orgues de Chartres is organizing a concert as part of its Soirées Estivales program this Thursday, July 20 at 9:00 pm.
VOICE TRIO & ORGAN
Aurore Blaise (soprano), Éric Gervais (tenor), Pascal Bezard (bass-baritone), Olivier Willemin (organ).
Aurore Blaise – soprano
Aurore Blaise first learned to play the piano, before joining the Orchestre et Chœur des Universités de Paris (OCUP) in 2007, under the direction of Guillaume Connesson, in parallel with her history studies. In 2010, she joined Michel Piquemal’s Chœur Vittoria d’Île-de-France.
In 2013, she refocused her musical practice on the Baroque repertoire – her preferred one – with Georges Guillard’s Camerata Saint-Louis de Paris and, since 2015, the Bach Collegium Paris conducted by Patrizia Metzler.In the various ensembles of which she is or has been a member, she regularly sings as a soloist, notably in the works of Bach (cantatas, Passions).
In 2014, she was commissioned by Georges Guillard to record Jehan Alain’s Messe Modale en septuor. The audience could hear her sing at the Oratoire du Louvre J-N. Lefebvre’s Laudate Dominum with the Camerata Saint-Louis de Paris, and in programs of Bach cantatas and English music with the Bach Collegium Paris.
Éric Gervais – tenor
After beginning vocal studies with Monique Moigneteau in Nantes, and as a member of the Nantes vocal ensemble directed by Paul Colléaux, Éric Gervais joined the Maîtrise de Notre-Dame de Paris, where he completed a three-year professional training cycle. He then completed his training in Blandine de Saint-Sauveur’s class at the Conservatoire de Pantin, where he obtained his Diplôme d’Études Musicales.
At the same time, first at Notre-Dame de Paris and then at the Centre de musique médiévale de Paris, he studied and perfected his skills in Gregorian chant and medieval music under the direction of Brigitte Lesne.
From early music to contemporary creation, he has sung with numerous ensembles, including Akademia Champagne-Ardennes, the Radio-France choir, Les Éléments in Toulouse, as well as A Sei Voci (Renaissance music) and Venance Fortunat (medieval music).
As a soloist, in addition to appearances in early music and recitals, he has performed in oratorios by Schütz, Bach, Mozart and Haydn, as well as on stage, notably in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges conducted by Cyril Diederich.
Pascal Bezard – bass-baritone
Choir conductor, professional singer, musicologist and teacher, Pascal Bezard enjoys tackling all aspects of music having « the voice » as a common denominator. He explores and studies all repertoires and eras, as much out of personal curiosity as out of passion and concern for sharing with his choristers and students.
Pascal Bezard holds a Master of Arts in musicology from the Sorbonne and a prize in choral conducting in the class of Pierre Calmelet at the Regional Conservatory of Boulogne-Billancourt.
After studying singing with Pali Marinov and at the Conservatoire du Centre de Paris, he performed as a singer in a number of professional ensembles (Ensemble Vocal Michel Piquemal, Le Concert Spirituel, Accentus, Jacques Moderne, les Éléments, etc.), in which he tackled a wide repertoire under the direction of conductors of varied personalities (M. Minkowski, H. Niquet, J.- C. Malgoire, M. Corboz, L. Equilbey, Ph. Herreweghe, J. Suhubiette, …).
He regularly sings bass-baritone solo parts in the oratorio repertoire (Charpentier, Purcell, Gilles, Bach, Mozart, Fauré, Duruflé, etc.).
After seven years as a music teacher, Pascal Bezard turned his attention to music history, lecturing for three years at the Évry Val d’Essonne University. He is now regularly invited to give lectures on music history and the voice (physiology, pathology, vocal technique). For nearly 10 years, he collaborated on voice research at the LAM (Musical Acoustics Laboratory).
His vocation as a choral conductor has led him to direct several choirs and vocal ensembles in Paris (Ensemble Vocal “Quid novi?”) and the surrounding region (Ensemble “O Musica” in Le Vésinet); he also occasionally leads thematic workshops (Gregorian chant, medieval music, French Baroque, etc.), including a workshop at the Choralies de Vaison-la-Romaine in 2010 and 2013.
After two years as a soloist at Notre-Dame de Paris, in 1999 he and other singers from the cathedral founded the professional male-voice ensemble Magnus Liber, specializing in Gregorian chant, medieval polyphony and Baroque plainchant.
Pascal Bezard is choirmaster at Saint-Pierre de Chaillot church (Paris, 16th arrondissement) and was choirmaster in charge of major ceremonies at Saint-Louis des Invalides cathedral (Paris, 8th arrondissement) for over 10 years. He is appointed cantor at Les Billettes Lutheran Church since 1991.
Olivier Willemin – organ
After serving as organist at Montmorency collegiate church, Olivier Willemin has been titular organist at Sainte Rosalie church in Paris since 1995. He has been a frequent guest at the Nice, Masevaux and Saint-Malo organ festivals.
As a composer, he has published a Psautier triennal des dimanches et fêtes (studio SM, 2002), various songs from the Saint-Séverin repertoire (Voix Nouvelles, 2023) and two liturgical masses (Atelier du Fresne, 2009 and 2012). His organ works remain unpublished. As an improviser, he has recorded a French suite as part of a disc devoted to the organs of the Doller valley (Ligia Digital).
His activities as a continuo player have led him to accompany the Camerata Saint-Séverin, the Jean Sourisse choir and, at present, the violinist Igor Ramos, notably in works by Bach and Vivaldi. Olivier Willemin is also a member of the Trio Gallican, dedicated to traditional French music.
Finally, he is the author of an article on the Genesis of the Psalm and its musical evolution through the ages, and a Histoire de la chanson française des origines à la Révolution.