Paris - Cité de la Musique

The Cité de la Musique is a the central location of a complete array of institutions dedicated to music, including a conservatory, a library, a museum and more.  Once an industrial area at the northeastern edge of Paris, the site was developed as part of a vast cultural and scientific center. Originally this was an industrial area that included a cattle market and slaughterhouse.

The cast iron market, a landmark, was restored and is now used for theater and dance performances, exhibits and other events.  A new, state-of-the-art symphonic concert hall is scheduled to open in 2015.

I came here for a vocal recital of music by Schumann, scheduled for 3 pm in the concert hall.  I had never been to the museum, so this was the perfect occasion to see it.  An extra hour of sleep due to the time change, gave me more time to devote to discovering the collections, particularly rich in instruments from 17th century Europe, presented in their historical context.  As usual for me in museums, I find it impossible to see everything in one visit; the museum occupies 21,500 sq ft. or 2,000 sq. m.

I received a headset at the entrance - an absolute necessity. Many of the instruments are displayed in climate-controlled glass cabinets with extensive documentation and coordinated sound files.  (They must have been good quality because I could not hear sounds from any other headsets nearby.)

There were many early instruments that I had never heard of or seen.

A vielle made in 1750 in Rajasthan, India.

I especially liked a maquette of the opera house in the time of Lully;

Instruments in Rameau's orchestra

and a display of instruments arranged as they
would have appeared for Rameau's orchestral works.  An audio file played a selection.

One of the oldest objects I saw was a small statue found at Susa (now Iran) dated from the 14th c BCE.  The man appears to be playing some sort of stringed instrument, but I could not find any documentation.






Among the strangest instruments were the cornets (a type of horn), some twisted, some decorated, and one with a grotesque head. These were not the only instruments with animal carvings or designs.

Another unusual item was a ceramic trumpet, displayed along with a decorated shofar.







Many of the stringed instruments were finely decorated on their bodies, but on this theorbo, the decoration was on the fingerboard.

There were many keyboard instruments, some elaborately painted;

but I had time only for a relatively fast walk past most of them. It was nearly time for the concert.

I found my seat in the 8th row of a modern hall which quickly filled up. This was an excellent concert with internationally known artists: Dorothea Roschmann, Angelica Kirschlager, Ian Bostridge, and Thomas Quasthoff.  They were mostly excellent in solos and duets, and they received enthusiastic applause.