Bravo Toulouse, the French city hitting all the right musical and culinary notes
25.12.2023 - 02:40
/ theguardian.com
From rubbish comes rhythm, trash turned into tunes. At La Halle de la Machine in Toulouse, I watch Ignacio Herrero, one of La Halle’s staff members, make music out of recycled bits of junk. This hangar-like space in the southern district of Montaudran is best known as the home for the giant animatronic Minotaur Asterion and its equally enormous spider companion Ariane. However, exhibits demonstrated by staff also include a makeshift orchestra: old klaxons turned into an organ, a huge pinwheel of abandoned guitars, a cascade of battered drum cymbals, an accordion powered by a contraption that in a previous life operated windscreen wipers. The ingenuity, innovation and whimsy of it all are enchanting – music and engineering harmoniously coming together in a way that would have had Heath Robinson bursting into song.
Toulouse has always been one for breaking boundaries: La Halle de la Machine is next door to L’Envol des Pionniers Museum, which celebrates early French aviation, and three miles from the space-themed Cité de l’Espace science museum. Since 31 October it’s now an official Unesco-designated City of Music, in recognition of Toulouse’s exceptional musical institutions, music education and festivals.
Music is as much a part of the city’s DNA as it was when the medieval counts of Toulouse were ardent patrons of those Occitan-singing troubadours who provided the soundtrack of the middle ages. There aren’t many places where the city hall shares its space with the national theatre and opera house, in this case the Théâtre du Capitole, but it’s what happens behind the pink neoclassical facade of the Capitole, Toulouse’s most imposing landmark. The Christmas market is in full swing during my visit, filling the elegant arcaded Place du Capitole with glittering white wooden chalets, the scent of mulled wine, and stalls selling fantastically gooey aligot, the Aveyron region’s signature dish of cheesy, garlicky mash.
At the Théâtre du Capitole I catch a captivating performance of Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses by the Toulouse-based Gemelliensemble I . It’s the last in the run, but gives a taste of the theatre’s rich programme of opera, classical music and ballet. With baroque opera ringing in my ears, I wander over to the student quarter near one of Toulouse’s three universities. The cloisters of its gothic Couvent des Jacobins make an atmospheric setting for concerts including the Piano aux Jacobins festival, and Toulouse’s conservatoire, which is training the next generation of musicians.
When I reach Place Saint-Pierre near the Garonne River , I’m firmly in student territory. I’m not sure why the bar Le Saints des Seins calls itself the saint of breasts, but it’s popular for live music and DJ sets.