“Dance and Song” with the harp by Héloïse Carlean-Jones
With several successful guest appearances by top soloists and chamber ensembles, the Ohrid Summer Festival entered the second half of this year’s 61st concert season last night with the sounds of the harp and the artist Héloïse Carlean-Jones, who performed as part of the French evening.
The French evening of “Ohrid Summer” has been a traditional event for 14 years and every summer brings the best artists from France to the audience.
Declaring the evening open, the Ambassador of the Republic of France to the Republic of North Macedonia, Cyril Bomgartner said that in the past fourteen years the French cultural presence in the country has its summer capital, and that is Ohrid.
– The French evening has become a tradition, becoming during these years a privileged moment to present young and future great talents of French music, to the satisfaction of the audience. Thus, we had the opportunity to hear the previous years, the duo composed of the oboist Arian Bake and the pianist Theodor Lambert, the baroque ensemble “Maskerina” or the duo Vincent Misa and Joe Christoph. “I will not list all the soloists we had the opportunity to receive in this beautiful building of St. Sophia Church because the list is too long,” said Ambassador Bomgartner.
The French ambassador sent congratulations to the director of “Ohrid Summer”, Natasa Popovic for, as he said, the well-composed program despite the special conditions of the health crisis.
– This success is a victory through culture. On this occasion, I would like to wish a long life to the Ohrid Summer Festival, this largest cultural event in Northern Macedonia, which is living its sixty-first edition. I express my desire, aspiration and will for this cooperation between the Embassy of France, the French Institute in Skopje and the Ohrid Summer Festival to continue for many more years within a French-Macedonian relationship that is beginning to strengthen in many areas and provides prospects for development. what they promise, for the greatest benefit of our two countries and our two peoples, said Ambassador Bomgartner.
The young French harpist Héloïse Carlin-Jones through the clarity and dexterity of the harp sound showed that he is a top artist who perfectly masters the instrument.
– I am in Ohrid for the first time, and it is a great honor. The program was varied, consisting of original works written on a harp, as well as transcripts, such as Bach. The repertoire was specially made for the festival. The first half of the concert was filled with dances and the second with songs. “Because of the amazing acoustics, I felt like the music I was playing filled the space,” said Carlean-Jones.
She admitted that the past period of the pandemic, when the world was paralyzed, was difficult for artists as well.
– The coronavirus left consequences. Just as I was preparing for my master’s degree, the virus thwarted my plans. However, I am very happy that last year I joined the Guard Orchestra in Paris, said the young French harpist Héloïse Carlin-Jones.
The French evening of the Ohrid Summer Festival started in 2008 during the French Presidency of the European Union in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of France in the country and the French Institute in Skopje.
