Paris main visit page 2

History and scandals

Cité and musée de la Musique, a must!!!

Cite des Sciences et d'Industrie

Parc de la Villette

Parc des Buttes Chaumont

Mouzaia quarter-Picturesque village in heart Paris

Paris-19th arr -Cité and musée de la Musique-A must!!! 

Lobby of the musee and concert hall

La CITE DE LA MUSIQUE was realized by architect Christian de Portzamparc. On the premises we can also see the "CONSERVATOIRE DE LA MUSIQUE" characterized by her undulating roof of corrugated iron, her pillars piercing through iron VULVAS and the heavy waves it shows. Joyful architecture, as usual, a very original concept with the enormous cylinder with inclined dome of the " concert hall", ready to accept 1200 "melomanes" rookies or confirmed. On the programs, classical and big shots, William Christie, John-Elliot-Gardiner or Pierre Boulez but also jazz (Max Roach, Cecil Taylor) or the "chanson francaise". Also smaller concert halls are available. Let's emphasize the good acoustics of the halls, the quality of the concerts, the reasonable prices.
In 1997, the MUSEE DE LA MUSIQUE opened as a modern concept centred on musical heritage. It's priceless collections imposed embracing ambitious policies of acquisition and restoration. With a surface in excess of over 3000 square meters, the halls of the permanent exhibition deploy 900 instruments, paintings and divers objects. It boasts an extraordinary rich collection, with 17th century archlutes from Venice, remarkable collection of French and Flemish instruments from the 18th and 19th centuries, violins from the famous Cremona school (Amati, Stradivarius, Guarnerius del Gesu), recorders by Hotteterre, Flemish harpsichords by the famous Antwerp Ruckers dynasty, pianofortes from Erard and Pleyel, an exceptional ensemble of brass by Adolphe Sax (did I tell it already he was from Namur-Dinant in Belgium?), instruments of the 20th century such as an electric violin by Frank Matthews, Frank Zappa’s E-Mu synthesizer or percussion instruments from Edgar Varese.
Infrared headsets enable visitors to penetrate" sound pockets", and to listen to explanations and extracts of important works played by the instrument displayed before their eyes as they tour the various levels. The visitors who penetrate the halls of the museum are at once stuck by the feeling of being elsewhere, in a concert hall, at a recital....
The museum is divided in 9 spaces or chapters setting the instruments within the historical, social and cultural contexts that saw their emergence. These nine spaces constitute major landmarks in the museum’s itinerary; yet another parallel itinerary is available to the visitor. Showcases situated at the various levels presents families of instruments, punctuating the chronological tout at key instants in the history of a given instrument. These showcases also present monographs of instrument makers such as Sellas, Stradivarius, Amati, Sax (Belgian!), Vuillaume…..In each case, a common device makes it possible to literally see a given work. In the case of Monteverdi's  Orfeo for instance, a model of the ducal palace of Mantova, where the work was created, shows the positioning of the orchestra.

The museum shows superb Flemish and Italian harpsichords, archiluths, clavichords, cistresand other old and forgotten instruments as the mega double bass, 3 to 4m high! And all this illustrated by the sound and musical excerpts of these instruments brought to you through your infrared ear sets. The excerpts of opera, concertos or jazz, soberly commented, charm your ear and educate your mind. You can't get enough! I spent there 3 h easily, without realizing time was going by so quickly!
Web site www.cite-musique.fr

Bibliography

Nouvelle architecture, l’ère Mitterand , by J.Daniel (Grasset, 1997)-Cite de la Musique, (folder and handbook)