Chambord, a long history of Sons et Lumières show!
To attract visitors flocking to the Loire Valley, Chambord began in 1952 to offer nocturnal illuminations, then to organize night shows. At the request of the prefect of Indre-et-Loire, Pierre Sudreau, a specialist architect is considering what to propose for Chambord. The layout of the castle, writes the latter, lends itself well to a nocturnal illumination with spectacle. There is a large space there for parking cars, and the slightly amphitheater-shaped platform between the river and the forest could accommodate twenty to thirty thousand people. Suitably arranged projectors allow the effects to vary "to accentuate the reliefs, to make towers, skylights, bell towers emerge from the shadows, to give an impression of unreality which favors the evocation of the characters who have it. reside". There is indeed a real scenario for these night shows, where voices recorded on a musical background tell a story, generally chosen in relation to the anecdotal history of the castle. In 1952, the legend of the Hunting Inferno by Thibault le Tricheur Comte de Blois served as the theme for the first show, allowing ghosts to be summoned to the foot of the towers. The following year it is the salamander of François 1 "which never ceases to be reborn in the flames. Sometimes, the light effects underline the text when the story demands it, the spectators thus have the feeling that a light is running. inside the building.
Traveler
traveler my friend
that you come from Sologne
water sip of insects and mysteries
or the sweetness of the Loire
hypocrite too
a great dream awaits you
between the river and the forest
at the crossroads of time
Chambord
Extract from the show "The fight of the day and the Night" Château de Chambord
70 years of history
On July 5, 1952, President Vincent Auriol attended the show, confirming its symbolic importance. The Republic, in fact, as we can see when analyzing the content of history textbooks, took charge of the continuity of the royal heritage. Far from wanting to destroy the great royal castles, it now protects them, buys them, restores them, remodels them and illuminates them. Their function is to express the regained grandeur and creativity of post-war France.