Uplifting Voices in Lumières and Vaison

Every summer, a group of talented singers from Nice and the UK known as the Ristretto Choir arrives in tiny, charming Lumières in the Luberon to enjoy good food and wine, the beauty of Provence, lovely warm weather and a week of intensive choral singing. This year's program will be two challenging works: "Concerto for Choir" by Alfred Schnittke (sung in Russian) and "Spem in alium" by Thomas Tallis.  Their open-to-the-public concert will be Saturday August 13 at 6 pm, in the Chapelle des Missions of the Hotellerie Notre Dame de Lumières, a very-special hotel in a former 17th-century convent. Admission to the concert is free...just show up! For a casual dinner afterwards, stroll over to Le Garage, grab an outdoor table and tuck into a terrific selection of tapas, small plates and cocktails. Lumières is just off the D900, just below the village of Goult...about 15 to 20 minutes from Gordes and the 12th-century Abbaye de Sénanque. And if you're planning an event of your own, the highly regarded Ristretto Choir and its musicians are 
available for weddings and other events. For more info: RistrettoVoices.com, choralsummer@aol.com, +33 (0)6-17-71-71-70. 

*If choral music is your thing, you probably already know about the International Choral Festival, which happens every three years in Vaison-la-Romaine...when the streets literally are filled with the sound of music. It happens every three years, in early August, and it's happening now, until Aug 11. There are classes, free concerts, paid concerts, street performers bursting into song...and much more. Check out the daily free concert at 6 pm on the Place Montfort...free concerts in the place in front of the 15th-century cathedral in the Medieval village...and the 8:30 pm paid-entry concert at the Roman theater, with sing-along. For info: choralies.fr