All the mornings of the world

Description of the article « All the mornings of the world »

Scene from the film "Tous les matins du monde" (All the Mornings of the World), directed by Alain Corneau in 1991, depicting Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe with his daughters Madeleine and Toinette during a viola da gamba lesson in the spring of 1650. One is very focused, while the other is sulking. In the intimacy of a room bathed in the golden light of spring 1650, Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, master of the viola da gamba, is passing on his art to his daughters. Madeleine, seated with almost reverential concentration, meticulously reproduces her father's precise movements, her fingers gliding over the strings with a devotion that betrays her love for music. Each note seems to resonate like a prayer, a tribute to the fleeting beauty of the moment. In the background, Toinette, seated on a bench, observes the scene with a somber expression, as if the melancholy of her youth clashes with the rigor of her training. Her distant gaze adds a touch of mystery and tension to this family scene, a reminder that every vocation is born from a mixture of passion and resistance.

This image captures the very essence of the film: the transmission, discipline, and poetry of the Baroque music we hear. The room's dark wood paneling, the stained-glass windows filtering a soft light, and the period costumes transport the viewer to the 17th century, where music was both an art and a devotion.

A work that celebrates artistic heritage, the complexity of family relationships, and that secret alchemy between a master and their students, where each note played is a step closer to eternity.