Fruit of a gigantesque work in nature domestication, it was inspired by Apollo mythological story, as it is based on his divine dedication to Music..

Since 1966, date of its creation, the “Grandes Eaux Musicales” has pleased the crowds as it restores Versailles gardens to their actual live royal environment.

This path to follow, personally designed by the King himself, is involving a dramatic background. The diversity of water effects, supervised by the King, was listed by Louis XIV himself in a manuscript called “Ways to show Versailles Gardens”.

The combination of grand fountains, symmetric grounds, small retreats, and the omnipresent sophisticated adapted Musical backgrounds carry you through this royal entertainment treat. Lully, Martin Marais, Me de Sainte-Colombe are among the selected composer and Musicians whose music accompanies the water shows.

“ Château de Versailles-Spectacles” Association is responsible for the 2005 season of the evening water shows and night festivities.

(The night Grand Waterworks Show)

Fireworks

Once they complete their historical background stroll, the visitors will surely enjoy a grand Fireworks show around Apollo Bassin.

Baroque Music Versailles Center (Producer of the 2004 Evening Grand Waterworks)

This Center was created in 1987 under the initiative of the Culture and Communications Ministry, furthermore dedicated to the restoration and diffusion of the 17th and 18th century French Musical heritage, which was quite unknown until then, even if it was a particularly rich and diversified Musical period.

With this in mind, it gathered in the petty pleasures Versailles mansion (Hotel des Menus Plaisirs) researchers, engravers, pedagogues and Music interpreters, all specialized in this specific repertory, with a mission to build a grand musical landmark heritage. From original researches to the actual concerts, the Versailles Center of Baroque Music has met its goal while being a national and international sponsor and promoter of the 16th and 17th century Musical richness.

Parts of its strategic planning are:

• A study class for the sake of unity of research.
• A Library including over 30,000 related documents.
• The engraving class, which was at the origin of the creation of over 120 volumes and 400 compositions, composed altogether of over 22,000 pages of Music.

The Association’s Musical Productions Department, associated with the creation of the Grand Public Museum as well as the Grand Versailles Domaine, organizes every year an internationally renown concert season called: the Fall season Versailles Musical show.
This festival became a showcase of 16th and 17th century Musical environment and its dedicated contemporary interpreters.

Since 1987, over 1500 concerts took place in the town of Versailles, at the château, all over France, Europe, and overseas. Two thousand French musical compositions were saved and reactivated this way. We can praise some of the « Baroque « style Musicians who played a great part in the resurrection of a this Musical style, such as: Jean Claude Magloire, William Chrisite, Jordi Savall, Gustav Leonhardt, René Jacobs.

Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles
Hôtel des menus Plaisirs
22 avenue de Paris
BP 353 Versailles Cedex
Tel: 01 39 20 78 10 Fax: 01 39 20 78 11

A branch of the Versailles Château Organization, the “ Château de Versailles –Spectacles” Association is the official organizer of the Evening Waterworks, the grand Musical Water Shows and the Night Feasts.

PR contact: Barbara Durand and Marine Vaujany. Tel: 33 (0) 1 43 80 84 84