Marc Giacone, a Monaco church-organist and composer internationally recognized, is at
present pursued by the justice of his country for facts which recover essentially from the irreverence
face to face of the ruling Prince and from public personalities of the Principality. Six months of imprisonment
and a heavy fine were required against him for the animation of a satiric web site. Before even any judgment or
sentence, he was by administrative decision, dismissed from his organist’s post holder in the chapel
of the Carmelites of Monaco.
We can understand that the persons aimed by Marc Giacone’s caricatures badly bore
them and reacted vigorously, by asking for the stop of the site. But a penalty so hard as the imprisonment
would be, to our opinion, even more catastrophic for the Principality than for Marc Giacone.
Marc Giacone is, above all, a creator, a composer and an improviser in a powerful and
innovative language. Up to this unfortunate fuss, his musical freedom of expression widely contributed to
the artistic brilliance of the Principality, from which he defended moreover always the cultural policy,
notably in organs. But the freedom of expression of an artist can’t be “cut in fragments”.
There are many historic examples which show that the political power always should rather accept a little
of irreverence on behalf of the artists. For the offspring, the glory of Louis XIV likes more the
protection which he brought to Molière that in its military conquests!
Condemn Marc Giacone, remove him his organist’s post holder from the chapel of
the Carmelites, while the incriminated acts have nothing to do with this function, it also is to muzzle
the only one classical music composer acting actually in the Principality, that will not contribute any
more in the cultural brilliance of its country. It is finally to risk to tarnish considerably the image
of the Principality outside: the only requisitions of the prosecutor have already provoked numerous bustles
in the French press: “Marianne”,
“Le Canard enchaîné”,
“Le Parisien”,
“Ici Paris” and
many others
stigmatize this constraint to freedom of expression in Monaco. A condemnation would lead to a real media earthquake.
It’s time to limit the damages, both for the defense of the Art and for the image
of the Principality: Marc Giacone must be totally cleared in this affair more than exaggerated, and his
holder’s post must be returned to him.
By signing this petition, you will defend not only the honor of an artist but also
the freedom of creation and expression, foundation of any alive culture, naturally corresponding to
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
established in 1948 by United Nations.
Jacques SCHWARTZENTRUBER (Organist) and Sébastien COSSON (Organbuilder)
