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Gilles Chabenat, Guest Artist of Honor at 2006 Saint-Chartier Festival

A small group of friends once imagined that reality could be as daring as fiction and launched a musical assault on the castle of George Sand’s « Maîtres sonneurs ».  This wonderful dream is now, thirty years later, a unique rendezvous: « The Saint-Chartier Festival ».

For all area musicians, the thought of walking in the footsteps of José and Huriel thus unleashed at that time a joyful, enthusiastic, and contagious mythology. Soon, folks came from all over the world, brought by passion or mere curiosity. We realized that in many other places there were hurdy-gurdies and bagpipes and musicians of all ages to play them, and above all luthiers who were ready to make new instruments.  A special bond was thus born between them as they embraced the new wave of opportunity, dedicating themselves not only to the exact reproduction of period instruments but also to the most unbridled experiments.

Like all of those who played musical hooky, this need to share has been with me since my very first hurdy-gurdy notes. I am thus extremely happy to bring my personal perspective, however limited it may be, to this 2006 edition.

Saint-Chartier has truly become an institution. The new practice of associating to the festival a different guest artist each year brings us back to the original objective of our rendezvous: meeting others.

Gilles Chabenat