A MUSICAL LECTURE ON THE SAINT JOHN’S FIRES OF THE CENTRAL PYRENEES
Musical lecture
Espace Jean Dubuc
Portet-d’Aspet (Haute-Garonne)
France
June 13th, 2026
This is an initiative of Eth Ostau Comengés as part of the “Creative Europe Tramontana IV” project.
As Saint John’s Day (June 24th) approached, Eth Ostau Comengés carried out several awareness-raising actions on this fire festival during the Festival Tramontana. One of them was this musical lecture on the Saint John’s festival as it is, and was, celebrated in the central Pyrenees from the 17th century to the present day. It was above all a moment of exchange, in which the audience could share information and ask questions to the two speakers.
The evening covered the UNESCO listing of the fire festivals of the Pyrenees, the origin and symbolism of the festival, the diversity of the fires in Comminges, from the Neste to the Couserans, and the beliefs and rituals, known, secret or forgotten, linked to the summer solstice. It also looked at the links between these fire festivals and beliefs about water: the “har”, the split tree burnt on the evening of the festival, is kept near water, such as a river, until it is raised. In mountain villages the festival is often connected with pastoralism, notably through its soundscape, in which many pastoral instruments such as horns and conches are heard.
The lecture was given by Mathieu Fauré and punctuated by songs and hurdy-gurdy tunes played by Dominique Barés, a seasoned Occitan musician well known in Comminges and beyond. It was attended by 15 people.
