All music styles were celebrated this Thursday, June 21, 2012, in Menton, for the 29th edition of the Fête de la Musique. Rock, Hip Hop, soul, dance, and French variety filled the sidewalks of the city of lemons, inviting the public to celebrate the first day of summer with dignity.
This year, the artists from Menton embraced the motto for this new anniversary of the Fête de la Musique: uniqueness and diversity!
At 5 PM, under the porch of the Palais de l’Europe, the atmosphere was very classical with the recital of the Conservatory of Music of Menton’s Classes, and became more lively at the Esplanade Francis Palméro, near the Bastion at 8 PM.
The Menton Association for the Development of Music presented a variety of musical styles to suit the tastes of enthusiasts: rock with Rolling Squids, Gasoline, Machu Pichu Orchestra, or Pressure for fans of guitars and energetic sounds, Soul Hip Hop Dance warmly represented by Swaga Murda with their exotic rhythms, and a melting pot of alternative culture embodied by Mani FX with their mix of rock, punk, pop, and electric sounds. Uniformly, the spectators were thrilled and gathered in front of the stage to dance to good rock tunes!
The fort at the Bastion had the atmosphere of a “rave party” with minimal techno sound and varying bass and sharp percussion, much to the delight of the “ravers,” who were literally inhabited by their music, and came in large numbers to sway in front of the monument.
At Sablettes Beach, from 8 PM to midnight, the atmosphere was equally vibrant with the French variety of the Aaron Wintch Group, international resonances of Sourires et Mélodies, and the rhythmic Rap-Hip Hop of the four young members of Threestyle’music, who were cheered by the audience.
Higher up, at the Basilica of Saint Michael, the Choir of Angels – an ensemble of baroque songs –, soprano Christina Collier, and trumpeter and organist Hervé Feraud and Dominique Baubet, moved the gathered spectators with emotion in the church, offering an appointment to the lovers of sacred songs.
To hear traditional songs and music from the Menton area, one had to go to the Sacred Heart Church on Avenue Edouard VII, where, in the purest Menton tradition, the Vocal Ensemble of the Menton area, the Adult Choir of the Menton area, the Chanterie u Lugari children, and the ArcoMusica Orchestra performed in patois, much to the delight of the die-hard fans of the city of lemons’ singing language.
