The Conques Light Show (the coolest thing I've seen on a Camino)

BillW · Friday at 1:53 PM

I couldn't find any posts about this on the Forum, so I thought I'd share...

One of the most beautiful stops on the Le Puy route is Conques. It's a picturesque French village featuring the beautiful Abbey of Sainte Foy.

Like many churches, the Abbey's church features a facade with carvings of Biblical stories.

Each night after dark, there is a light show which projects onto the facade, and helps tell the story that is portrayed in the carvings. Each section is lit up in a specific order to present the story as intended. I've never seen anything like it, and it stands out as one of my favorite things that I've ever seen on a Camino.

I've attached a picture of the facade with and without the lights projected. Maybe some of you could share some better photos/videos or more information about the Abbey and the light show.

mspath · Friday at 2:13 PM

Conques is a very special place and worth more than a mad dash in/out. Do read what fellow forum member Lovingkindness and I have written in this earlier thread re the glories of Conques.

Camino Chrissy · Friday at 2:17 PM

I stayed at the monastery in Conques and saw the incredible light show. A priest was on the organ playing "The House of the Rising Sun", coordinated with the light show. It was surreal and a memory I will never forget.
There have been a few posts mentioning it in recent years.

Camino Chrissy · Friday at 2:23 PM

mspath said:
Conques is a very special place and worth more than a mad dash in/out. Do read what fellow forum member Lovingkindness and I have written in this earlier thread re the glories of Conques.

I just took a look at the video in your link, @mspath as I'd missed it the first time around.
I see it is different than what I saw and very beautiful! Thanks for bringing it to the forefront again for us to enjoy.

Pafayac · Friday at 2:28 PM

For those who understand french, it is worth to attend the presentation of the tympan of the church, because the monk explain the story of Sainte Foy. She was a young martyr dead on the 3rd century, in Agen.
Six centuries later, the monks of Conques managed to rob the relics of Sainte Foy. In order to get the relics, 2 of them did not hesitate to enter in the abbey of Agen, and stay there 10 years in order to gain the confidence of the hierarchy of this abbey, before escaping to Conques with the precious bones !

Harington · Friday at 4:18 PM

Camino Chrissy said:
I stayed at the monastery in Conques and saw the infamous light show. A priest was on the organ playing "The House of the Rising Sun", coordinated with the light show. It was surreal and a memory I will never forget.
There have been a few posts mentioning it in recent years.

Infamous? But why?

Camino Chrissy · Friday at 4:21 PM

Harington said:
Infamous? But why?

Oops, a very poor choice of a word. Thanks for noticing; I have edited my post; changing it to "incredible".

Felice · Friday at 4:27 PM

It might sound like The House of the Rising Sun - which is a strange song to be played by a monk - but it is actually a French version (or maybe original?) called Le Pénitencier, sung by Johnny Holiday. If you look up the words, they are more appropriate to a cathedral setting.

Felice · Friday at 4:28 PM

And later on, the monk plays what I know as Greensleeves, though it might have a different set of words in the French.

Camino Chrissy · Friday at 4:39 PM

Felice said:
It might sound like The House of the Rising Sun - which is a strange song to be played by a monk - but it is actually a French version (or maybe original?) called Le Pénitencier, sung by Johnny Holiday. If you look up the words, they are more appropriate to a cathedral setting.

Either way, there were no words, but the music was identical to the song I know and liked from my youth I do not know or speak French.
That said, I did find it rather unusual to be played in a church setting.

hieudovan · Friday at 6:06 PM

Felice said:
It might sound like The House of the Rising Sun - which is a strange song to be played by a monk - but it is actually a French version (or maybe original?) called Le Pénitencier, sung by Johnny Holiday. If you look up the words, they are more appropriate to a cathedral setting.

Thank you. It's one of my favorite songs and now I know the original. Bon chemin.

Pafayac · Friday at 6:10 PM

The monk who was playing modern musics at organ is a very good musician. But unfortunately, I heard that he is retired now.

Felice · Friday at 6:23 PM

Agree that it seemed most odd to hear

hieudovan said:
Thank you. It's one of my favorite songs and now I know the original. Bon chemin.

Actually, I've just looked it up on wikipedia and the origins of the song are very interesting. The French version was recorded a few months after The Animal's version. It's just that Johnny Holiday's version is better known in France, I think.

Camino Chrissy · Friday at 6:28 PM

Pafayac said:
The monk who was playing modern musics at organ is a very good musician. But unfortunately, I heard that he is retired now.

I only knew of the version by The Animals and heard a monk playing it on the organ in 2018.

Felice · Friday at 6:45 PM

I was staying at a gîte in the Célé Valley and the host was playing music during the meal. The song came on and I mentioned that this had been played by a monk in Conques and I had found it most unusual to play such a song in a holy building, as the lyrics seemed unsuitable.

The host explained looked up what was being played and then told me all about the French version, sung by Johnny Holiday, 'the most famous rock star totally unknown in the Anglosphere!'

Here's a google translation of the words to Le Penitencier

The doors of the penitentiary
Soon they will close
And this is where I will end my life
Like other guys finished it

For me, my mother gave
Her wedding dress
Can you ever forgive me
I made you cry too much

The sun is not made for us
It's at night that you can cheat
You who this evening lost everything
Tomorrow you can win

Oh, mothers, listen to me
Never leave your boys
Alone at night hanging out in the streets
They will go straight to prison

And you the girl who loved me
I made you cry too much
The tears of shame that you shed
We must forget them

And the doors of the penitentiary
Soon they will close
And this is where I will end my life
Like other guys finished it

There's a slightly different emphasis when you compare the words with those of The House of the Rising Sun.

mark connolly · 2024-07-02T19:14:16+0200

I saw the light show in Conques as well. Unfortunately, the Priest was giving the talk in French and could not understand etc. None the less, very impressive.

@Camino Chrissy I mentioned this in another post as well, and sorry to disappoint, but the Priest was not playing The Animals "House of the Rising Sun",he was play this:

Bon Chemin

Mark

CWBuff · 2024-07-02T20:01:46+0200

Camino Chrissy said:
I stayed at the monastery in Conques and saw the incredible light show. A priest was on the organ playing "The House of the Rising Sun", coordinated with the light show. It was surreal and a memory I will never forget.
There have been a few posts mentioning it in recent years.

I do believe I quipped at some point that one can sing "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" to the tune of "The House of the Rising Sun". I guess for the ultimate experience one should do so in Conques when the "snow is falling"

Pafayac · 2024-07-02T22:04:34+0200

mark connolly said:
@Camino Chrissy I mentioned this in another post as well, and sorry to disappoint, but the Priest was not playing The Animals "House of the Rising Sun",he was play this:

More likely he was playing this:

Felice · 2024-07-02T22:19:23+0200

So many variations and cover versions of one good song.
The monk might have thought that he was playing Amazing Grace.
Camino Chrissy and I heard The Animal's House of the Rising Sun.
French listeners would have heard Johnny Hallyday's Le Pénitencier.
No one is correct, no one is wrong.

jsalt · 2024-07-02T22:26:17+0200

Pafayac said:
More likely he was playing this:

Wow, that is fantastic. So good in French. Had to google it:

Le Pénitencier — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

"It is the French adaptation of an American folk song The House of the Rising Sun. Johnny Hallyday's version is inspired by that of the group The Animals (great success of the year 1964). Moving away from the original story, the French adaptation by Hugues Aufray and Vline Buggy evokes the incarceration of a young man on whom the doors of a prison close. The Penitentiary is produced by Philips and is directed by Lee Halliday. One of the artist's standards, Le Pénitencier is one of the most regularly recorded titles in his singing tour."

BillW · Friday at 1:53 PM

I couldn't find any posts about this on the Forum, so I thought I'd share... One of the most beautiful stops on the Le Puy route is Conques. It's a picturesque French village featuring the...

The Conques Light Show (the coolest thing I've seen on a Camino)

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