Barbara Hannigan and Golfam Khayam at the Résidence Voix 2024

Created in 1998 under the aegis of Pierre Boulez, the Académie du Aix International Festival is a "place of reflection that accompanies artistic and multidisciplinary practice, experimentation and research", and is a "veritable creative laboratory". It traditionally offers three residencies in June - vocal, instrumental and multidisciplinary. To add to its 26^e edition, Résidence Voix welcomes Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan. She is no stranger to the Festival d'Aix, where she has performed the great works of the vocal and instrumental repertoire for over fifteen years, Barbara Hannigan returns to the temple of lyric art to lead the vocal residency, alongside Darrell Babidge, professor and director of the vocal department at the Juilliard School, Alphonse Cemin and Benoît Hartoin, keyboardists and vocal conductors, and Emmanuelle Haïm, conductor and musical director of Le Concert d'Astrée.

For this year's vocal residency, the Académie received a record 453 applications from 51 nationalities. Fourteen artists from twelve countries were selected - three keyboard players, one conductor and ten singers - including French mezzo-soprano Marine Chagnon, nominated in the Lyric Revelation category at the 2023 Victoires de la musique classique awards.

Inclusion and transmission

Far from reflecting a simple master-pupil relationship between mentors and residents, Résidence Voix is truly an "intergenerational" platform for artistic, inter-professional and training encounters. It enables recognized singing masters, opera artists of renown or developing their careers, and composers to make valuable contacts, to think about their profession in today's context, and to work and create together. The artists in residence contribute to making this a genuine "space for the exchange of innovative ideas about opera".

The transmission of knowledge and practice has long been at the heart of Barbara Hannigan's artistic approach. A shared vision with the festival and its Académie has naturally emerged. Since the age of twenty, she has regularly given master classes, first to composers and singers, then to instrumentalists. She is also called upon by orchestras to lead breathing workshops. Now at the peak of her technique and deeply committed to the younger generation of musicians, in 2018 she created a mentoring program: Equilibrium Young Artists, and, in 2020, Momentum: Our Future, Now. "When I was starting out as a young artist, many musicians then more experienced than me gave me advice and opportunities. It's thanks to their generosity and commitment that I've been able to reach the level I have today. It's important to recognize that conservatories and summer programs aren't the only ones training our young colleagues. We're all involved. Professional musicians set an example for those entering the world of performance, not only in terms of preparation, but also in terms of behavior in rehearsals, backstage and on stage. Barbara Hannigan comes to Résidence Voix with no expectations, but "with great curiosity". "I want to see and hear how the young artists feel and approach the music, their voices, their breathing and their bodies".

A group that comes together to share music and support creative expression can only have positive effects, as Barbara Hannigan is well aware. But there are still many challenges to be met, particularly in terms of education. "Human beings are creative creatures who constantly seek inspiration and means of expression. We now know the benefits of music for brain development, and for subjects such as science and mathematics. Yet many schools have done away with music as an extracurricular activity. As a result, music has become even less accessible to disadvantaged children.

Through the training courses on offer - concerts, recitals, master classes, rehearsals, public workshops - the residency aims to be an open window on the work of young artists, to "get out of the huis clos and face the public". It also favors private sessions, likely to bring participants "into a focused and generous working space, away from the eyes and ears of the public, and above all away from social networks", explains Barbara Hannigan, underlining the current challenges facing the residents: "I hope to develop their ability to concentrate. Today, it's a huge challenge for young artists to reconcile all this - concentration, technique, discipline and the need for social networks to attract audiences".

 At the heart of creation

Résidence Voix is distinguished by its commitment to highlighting the singular, innovative energies of contemporary lyrical creation and supporting today's composers. True to her taste for contrasts, Barbara Hannigan tackles the pillars of the operatic repertoire, but remains a fervent defender of the music of the 20s.^e and 21^e centuries. Her collaborations on over eighty world premieres, including works by Boulez, Stockhausen, Dusapin and Benjamin, have inspired numerous performers and orchestras. More recently, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne has been added to the list of ensembles benefiting from this creative energy, with Barbara Hannigan appointed principal guest conductor as of next season.

"My objective during the Voix residency is linked to contemporary music, as I'm invited by the festival to work specifically on the modern repertoire. Some singers have virtually no experience of this music, so I see it as my mission to open the doors for them to feel comfortable approaching a contemporary work, and to enrich their understanding of this repertoire," she says enthusiastically. "Because we work with singers and pianists, I chose a non-operatic repertoire, very specifically written for voice and piano. These are not orchestral reductions. Among the works I have chosen are Crumb, Dutilleux, Harvey, Vivier and Ligeti, whose themes revolve around summer and night". Within an academy that is particularly "attentive to the diversity of aesthetics, practices, backgrounds, cultures, ages and genres", the residency enables young artists to confront contemporary repertoire and creation, offering them the opportunity to "discover both the score and maintain a privileged relationship with its composer and his universe". This year's guest is Golfam Khayam, an Iranian composer and guitarist, trained in the interpretation of contemporary music at Geneva's Haute Ecole de Musique.

The meeting between Barbara Hannigan and Golfam Khayam took place in March 2023. An eminently poetic encounter, born of a love affair with the words of Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlou, which led to the writing of the score for soprano and orchestra, I'm not a tale to be told. A first collaboration that left a lasting impression. This time, commissioned by the Académie du Festival d'Aix 2024, the composer has set her sights on a poem by Forough Farrokhzad, a major female figure in contemporary Iranian literature, and has conceived it as a piece for voice and piano. "This poem struck me as if Forough Farrokhzad had a solution to the darkness we helplessly witness. A solution to the boredom and anxiety of the 'ticking clock'". Noor (Light) is a piece that resonates with current events, reflecting "the absence of space and the timeless nature of the text, whose language is direct, simple, sensual and striking", explains Golfam Khayam. "As a composer, it's an invaluable opportunity to be able to express myself through this text, and to create a kind of cultural and musical bridge with young artists, but also with the heritage of Western classical music." She continues: "this unique space also allows me to experience the way Barbara Hannigan interacts with the artists, frames them, and in a way lifts them in a particular direction".

Barbara Hannigan is also renowned for her programming, which is perceptibly imbued with a hidden narrative. Who better than this great personality to accompany the world premiere of Noor ? "There's nothing like being able to create a work with the composer at your side. Meeting and working with Golfam Khayam is of infinite value. I'm sure it will be a very special creation," she recently confided. Rather "a kind of co-creation", the composer emphasizes: "with Barbara Hannigan and lyric artist Marine Chagnon, we will create and give new life to my piece". A collaboration that goes far beyond a simple musical event, "because it carries hidden messages that are obvious in many ways, and above all, it builds a solid bridge between two worlds". All within the framework of a festival which, in a fragile world, remains a place for cultural sharing and interaction, for raising awareness of music, and a deeply inspiring place for audiences and professionals alike.

Résidence Voix final concert, Hôtel Maynier d'Oppède, Aix-en-Provence, July 9, 9pm