It is well known that the people of Marseille, with splendid enthusiasm, a unique love for their freedom, and a spirit of rebellion against any authority, have led the French to fight against many abusive powers. From the 1789 revolution to the ‘Commune,’ the people of Marseille have expressed their bursts of liberation through songs and poems.
The workshop proposed at the Marranzano World Fest will be dedicated to the study of two of these songs: the first one on the hopes born from the ‘Commune,’ and the second one on Napoleon III. The members of the vocal group Lo Còr de la Plana, the most famous in the city of Marseille, will interpret and teach these two songs. For over 15 years, they have been carrying the voice and songs of Marseille around the world.
Rewritten and rearranged by them, these songs have once again entered the choral heritage of all Occitan-speaking countries and are performed on many occasions of struggle, both for the defense of Occitan cultures and to fight against the abuses of modern urban policies.
After various vocal warm-up exercises, intonation, and interpretation of Marseille texts, participants will explore polyrhythmic and polyphonic formulas, concluding by singing revolutionary texts explained and commented on by the group members.