Le concert de soupirs (The Concert of Sighs)

‘The celebration of faith through song is central to the Cistercian rule, with churches designed as musical instruments, providing exceptional acoustics that enhance the monks’ voices. Laurence Aëgerter has composed a secular concert of sighs for six voices to be performed in the nave at Thoronet Abbey. Similar to prayer, sighing is the universal language of emotional release, with the artist claiming that “the inverted boat that the vault evokes symbolises the common journey our lives take through storms and lulls”.
Text by Damarice Amao

I am very grateful to the Centre des monuments nationaux for the privilege to develop Le concert de soupirs in the context of my personal exhibition at the abbaye du Thoronet, ‘Berceuses pour la tempête’ (Lullabies for the Storm).

This sound work of 10 minutes 37 develops in three parts.
First ‘La conversation des anges’ (Conversation of Angels), second ‘La tempête’ (the Storm) and last ‘le sommeil’ (The Sleep).

The exceptional reverberation time of the sound in the abbaye du Thoronet (12 seconds) enhances the mental journey into which Le concert de soupirs is inviting its listeners.