Le Carillon de Vendôme
A Melodious Journey through History and Culture
Le Carillon de Vendôme resonates not only as one of the oldest political songs, but also as a harmonious echo through the historical journey of the kingdom of France.
Created to depict the last possessions of the Dauphin Charles in 1420, this melody was conceived in a context where, following the Treaty of Troyes signed the same year during the Hundred Years' War, the Dauphin found himself master of the towns of Orléans, Beaugency, Cléry, Vendôme and Bourges.
Today, an imposing five-ton bell, 2.10 m wide and 1.62 m high, remains as the only vestige of Vendôme's famous carillon. The carillon's harmonious melodies once drew listeners from all over the province, enveloping them in a concert of grace and harmony.
The original text, gentle and melancholy, still resonates in hearts and minds:
"Today, what's left
To this gentle Dauphin
Of all his beautiful kingdom?
Orléans, Beaugency,
Notre-Dame de Cléry,
Vendôme,
Vendôme."
In 2012, Laurent Voulzy performed Le Carillon de Vendôme in canon with his band's musicians and backing singers on his Lys & Love Tour, giving new life to this ancient melody. Listen here.
In 2022, Michel Houellebecq refers to "Le Carillon de Vendôme" in his novel "Anéantir", evoking a character, Paul Raison, who remembers copying it down in a notebook during his adolescence, testifying to the timeless soul and cultural wonder that this melody represents through the ages.