Summer in Provence is a chorus. There is no mistaking it. Before the lavender comes into view or the first market stall appears around the corner, you hear it. The steady chant of cicadas beneath the broad canopy of centuries-old plane trees. Water spilling from stone fountains into village basins. The quiet hum of bees moving from lavender bloom to lavender bloom. The mistral wind rushing through cypress and olive trees before fading into the gentle rhythm of the Mediterranean against the shore. These are the sounds that accompany everyday life here, becoming so familiar that they often go unnoticed until you have been away.
This 1-minute clip is an invitation to pause and listen. Filmed over the course of a Provençal summer: from the markets of Aix-en-Provence, Cucuron, Cassis and L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue to the rushing waters of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, the lavender fields of the Luberon, an evening piano concert beneath the stars at La Roque d’Anthéron, and the peaceful grounds of Domaine de Fontenille. The medly brings together the quiet soundtrack of this remarkable region. Whether Provence already feels familiar or you are discovering it for the first time, I hope these sounds transport you, if only for a moment.
