The Maguelone Early Music Festival in danger

“How long can we hold out?” This is the cry of alarm launched by Philippe Leclantpresident of Early music festival in Maguelone the 43rd edition of which is held until June 12 in Villeneuve-les-Maguelone. In question, a weakened economic balance by rising costs and falling funding.

An increasingly complex equation

While the cathedral of Maguelone, mainly, currently welcomes “rare and demanding music, carried by great performers as well as by young emerging ensembles”, the organizers of the Early Music Festival in Maguelone recall that “behind artistic excellence, economic balance is weakened.” If, for more than 40 years, the meeting has been established, like most festivals in recent years, and the cultural environment as a whole, it now finds itself in danger.

In question, “a continued increase in artistic and technical costs” and “financing under pressure”, “-20% of the main public partner” specify the organizers, finding themselves faced with “an equation that has become more complex each year”. And certainly more particularly on the occasion of this 43rd edition as Philippe Leclant underlines: “With effects already anticipated last year, we have arrived today at a moment of truth. The question goes far beyond Maguelone: ​​what place does our society still give to a demanding, accessible and vibrant culture in the territories?

« Un désert culturel »

For the founding president of the association Les Muses en dialogue, the moment is serious. “A cultural desert never sets in suddenly. It begins when festivals gradually give up their ambition, due to lack of resources. In Maguelone, as elsewhere, the question is now simple: to what extent are we prepared to let these places of living culture disappear? » he asks.

If the organizers ask: “How far can a festival last without giving up what makes its identity?”, the fears would be: “Strongly increase tickets? Reduce the number of concerts? Give up on certain artists? Weaken their remuneration Suspend an edition? It is up to public and private partners to hear Philippe Leclant’s cry of alarm to avoid these avenues and preserve all the cultural ambitions deployed for more than forty years.

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