From the opera, we know the countless miraculous potions and philtres that, in the course of their acts, the tormented souls who inhabit the stage tear themselves away. From the melody, we taste the long sighs where the soul of the poet is intoxicated with love and nature. From the tavern-like air, we retain the drive and the access of grivoiserie… But what a delight to note, at the heart of these scores in the favor of a replica, a recitative, a aubade, a song, the praise of wine!
In the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, censorship and propriety forced, it seemed strange to display such a drink on stage. Beyond the fact that it was improper to exhibit the decay of a man under the influence of alcohol, the very act of drinking — the most common gesture intended to satisfy a purely physical desire — could not decently inhabit the musical art of uplifting spirits. Although largely consumed by the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie on a daily basis, wine could thus appear as a vulgar and, after all, anti-aesthetic element.
It was without counting on the importance of ancient culture in the inspiration of composers; in the narratives also on the aspiration to libertinage which found in wine — and in the music of caves, taverns, theatres or courts — a precious accomplice. Last but not least, the vein buffa of many scores naturally invited to invite the wine whose effects on the body could be pretext for laughter and good humor. All in all, composers and performers saw there the prospect of success. Thus wine — young or old, delicious or infamous, adorned with praiseworthy virtues or symbol of depravity — would passionately irrigate many scores. We have gathered here a delicious anthology. And around music by Lully, Rameau, Clérambault, Bataille, Lambert, Boësset... the wine will be tasted at the end of the concert. Patiently selected in echo notes, the crus will allow the public to extend the musical journey. In vino musica!