Subtle, delicate and of an often perplexing beauty, the music presented in this cycle is an echo of the ancient flavours of an art, an art which plunges us into the mysteries of Zen meditation. This culture of fascinating practices takes many forms: intimate chamber music that evokes the world of Geishas, epic songs telling of valorous, fearless and irreproachable Samurais' deeds and finally the imperial court's majestic orchestra, which is accompanied by hieratic dance.

Developed with the collaboration of the composer and musicologist Akira Tamba and the ethnomusicologist Fabrice Contri, this series of concerts will be complemented by a conference and two films. These magnificently translate the atmosphere that impregnates the Japanese imagination, an atmosphere that is simultaneously solemn, quiet and violent. The film Kwaidan is a classic saga that was filmed in 1964 and will be screened with the very recent KanZeOn, a masterpiece of Japanese expressionism.

Laurent Aubert (Trad. Emma Johnson)