Swedish musician and organist Anna von Hausswolff (35) was forced to cancel two concerts in two French cities, when Catholic protesters accused the 35-year-old of playing “the devil’s music”.
The first concert was to take place in a church in the city of Nantes on Tuesday night, but was stopped when dozens of protesters blocked the church entrance while shouting, screaming and singing “Holy Mary God mother, pray for us poor sinners”.
– Scary and sad
According to BBC the protesters hung themselves up in von Hauswolff’s song “Pills”, where she sings in a line that she has made love with the devil.
In a post on Instagram Hausswolff himself describes the frightening experience.
«Here I sit inside the church and listen to between 50 and 100 integralists shouting and screaming outside the church doors. They block the road for almost 400 people. It was a scary, intense and boring situation. There was nothing we could do but cancel, as we had too little security. My thoughts go out to all my wonderful fans who stood peacefully and patiently outside (…) The church and I work together and not against each other.»
When the concert at the Saint-Eustache church in Paris also had to be canceled, the team around Husswolff was in a hurry to find a new concert venue. The choice fell on a then unnamed Protestant church near the Arc de Triomphe.
The new address was only given to those who had bought a ticket, with a message not to pass on the information.
– Military extremists
According to the BBC, Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot has described the protesters as military extremists, and clearly took Hauswolff’s side by saying that the implementation entailed freedom for artistic creation.
After the secret concert, the musician published a tribute on Instagram where she thanks the now named church and the pastor who made the implementation possible:
«Paris, we did it! Thanks to the Protestant Church Eglise Reformee de l’Etoile and Pastor Louis Pernot for making this possible at the very last second. I am in tears over all the support, love and courage from all the people who have been around me the last turbulent days.»
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