Alain, the guardian of the place

Once a doctor, a novelist in my spare time, I now dabble with my love of literature, music, cinema, philosophy and the visual arts.

Like many others, after a search on the internet, on a superb day in September 2010, I found La Muse. When I got there, the house was empty; there was a note on the kitchen table asking me to settle into my room, Clio. I waited for the shuttle to return from Carcassonne with other new residents. The journey had been long, so I lay on the bed in front of the open windows where a warm breeze passed, and daydreamed with this fabulous landscape as my companion. A little later, I heard voices and laughter on the terrace, and I got up to meet half a dozen people who would enter my life and stay there for many years.

Love stories are complicated. After a dozen stays, I said goodbye to La Muse in 2014. But I didn’t move away; I had also fallen in love with the region. I didn’t go far. I crossed the highway, and from Cabardès I went to settle in the Corbières, in the beautiful medieval village of Lagrasse. Lagrasse is a kind of large-scale La Muse; a crossroads of all cultures. Since 2018, I have been chairing the En Blanc Et Noir piano festival there.

In January 2019 the owners contacted me to announce their departure to the United States and the sale of La Muse. I knew I could not resist the temptation for long. When I visited the magical place again, I felt like I was coming home. Not to acquire it would have been a huge regret. Like me, Kerry and John Fanning wanted this unique place they created and developed with so much effort and passion to remain in the hands of someone who would appreciate its value.

I want to allow others to experience the extraordinary moments I lived at La Muse. The old house carries an immensely potent energy – perhaps it is the omnipresence of Mother Nature, the suspension of time, the unlikely meetings of unique personalities from all walks of life who find themselves in this well-hidden village of the Montagne Noire. Whatever it is, it is with great pleasure that I will welcome you to this magical place!

Alain Brichau