‘Qui parle ombre’ – Midget! & Gavin Bryars

BIO

Midget!’s latest album, ‘Ferme tes jolis cieux’ (Close your pretty skies), reached the ears of the British composer Gavin Bryars through Bertrand Belin, who was performing one of his operas at the time. It turns out that this record owes a lot to the work of the English, both in its form and in the ideas that animate it.

During the conception of ‘Ferme tes jolis cieux’ and especially of the opening title ‘Premier Soleil’, the duo had in mind the circulatory movement of the cellos of ‘The Sinking of the Titanic’, and the incantatory and repetitive motives of his other masterpiece ‘Jesus Blood never failed me yet’.

Gavin Bryars was the first to express a wish to work together. Reflecting on the form this collaboration could take, Midget! then decided to entrust him with the composition of the orchestral arrangements for the next album. Thus, continuing the work begun with ‘Ferme tes jolis cieux’ towards the realization of a modest symphony with few means, the duo invites Gavin Bryars as the conductor to melt their new compositions into a unique piece thanks to his genius of timbres and materials.

The idea underlying this work, which began as early as the composition and is to be continued with Gavin Bryars’ arrangements, is to find an articulation between art music and popular music. The artists summon a musical heritage – which is equally interested in the microtonal questionings of Janacek («Jenufa») and Ben Johnston – to which they add the modernity of a song devoid of operatic lyricism (as it was conceived at the beginning of the 20th century) and a polyphonic approach nourished by the recent work of composers such as Caroline Shaw.

The ensemble will consist of a four-person choir, an octet composed of violin, viola, cello, flute, bassoon, oboe, vibraphone/timbals and Gavin Bryars himself conducting. Midget! will collaborate for this purpose with the protean Ensemble 0 for the instrumental part and Macadam for the vocal polyphony. There is no doubt that the versatile virtuosity of these ensembles will serve the project wonderfully.

LINE-UP

Claire Vailler : Vocals
Mocke : Guitar
.
Ensemble 0 (Nonette) :
Tomoko Katsura : violin
Carla Pallone : viola
Céline Flamen : cello
Nour Trottier : flute
Julien Pontvianne : clarinet
Sophie Bernado : bassoon
Nicolas Chedmail : horn
Stéphane Garin : percussion
Youen Cadiou : contrabass
.
Macadam Ensemble (Vocals) :
Alice Kamenesky : choir
Anaïs Vintour : choir
Corinne Bahuaud : choir
Marie Pouchelon : choir
Etienne Ferchaud : conductor

Composition : Midget ! (Claire Vailler / Mocke)
Arrangements & conducting : Gavin Bryars

 

Coproduction : Murailles Music, La Soufflerie – Scène conventionnée de Rezé, Antipode – Rennes, Centquatre-Paris
With the support of the CNM, SACEM and Spedidam

LINKS


CONTACT

Past shows

Click on "date", "city" or "venue" to change the list display
  • DateCountryCityVenuewith 
  • 23/01/2023FranceRezé (44)La Soufflerieinfos event
  • 22/01/2023FranceRennes (35)Autres Mesures, Antipode - La Grande Scène (orgas. Antipode, Les Tombées de la Nuit, Autres Mesures)Ben Bertrandinfos event
  • 14/05/2022FranceLyon (69)Opéra de Lyon, Grande salleLooking for H'art Songsinfos event
  • 02/03/2022FranceParis (75)CENTQUATRE-PARISinfos event
  • 23/01/2022FranceRezé (44)Théâtre Municipal de Rezé (orga. La Soufflerie) (ANNULÉ)infos event
  • 22/01/2022FranceRennes (35)Antipode, Les Tombées de la Nuit, Festival Autres Mesures (ANNULÉ)Sacha Gattinoinfos event

BIO

Midget!’s latest album, ‘Ferme tes jolis cieux’ (Close your pretty skies), reached the ears of the British composer Gavin Bryars through Bertrand Belin, who was performing one of his operas at the time. It turns out that this record owes a lot to the work of the English, both in its form and in the ideas that animate it.

During the conception of ‘Ferme tes jolis cieux’ and especially of the opening title ‘Premier Soleil’, the duo had in mind the circulatory movement of the cellos of ‘The Sinking of the Titanic’, and the incantatory and repetitive motives of his other masterpiece ‘Jesus Blood never failed me yet’.

Gavin Bryars was the first to express a wish to work together. Reflecting on the form this collaboration could take, Midget! then decided to entrust him with the composition of the orchestral arrangements for the next album. Thus, continuing the work begun with ‘Ferme tes jolis cieux’ towards the realization of a modest symphony with few means, the duo invites Gavin Bryars as the conductor to melt their new compositions into a unique piece thanks to his genius of timbres and materials.

The idea underlying this work, which began as early as the composition and is to be continued with Gavin Bryars’ arrangements, is to find an articulation between art music and popular music. The artists summon a musical heritage – which is equally interested in the microtonal questionings of Janacek («Jenufa») and Ben Johnston – to which they add the modernity of a song devoid of operatic lyricism (as it was conceived at the beginning of the 20th century) and a polyphonic approach nourished by the recent work of composers such as Caroline Shaw.

The ensemble will consist of a four-person choir, an octet composed of violin, viola, cello, flute, bassoon, oboe, vibraphone/timbals and Gavin Bryars himself conducting. Midget! will collaborate for this purpose with the protean Ensemble 0 for the instrumental part and Macadam for the vocal polyphony. There is no doubt that the versatile virtuosity of these ensembles will serve the project wonderfully.

LINE-UP

Claire Vailler : Vocals
Mocke : Guitar
.
Ensemble 0 (Nonette) :
Tomoko Katsura : violin
Carla Pallone : viola
Céline Flamen : cello
Nour Trottier : flute
Julien Pontvianne : clarinet
Sophie Bernado : bassoon
Nicolas Chedmail : horn
Stéphane Garin : percussion
Youen Cadiou : contrabass
.
Macadam Ensemble (Vocals) :
Alice Kamenesky : choir
Anaïs Vintour : choir
Corinne Bahuaud : choir
Marie Pouchelon : choir
Etienne Ferchaud : conductor

Composition : Midget ! (Claire Vailler / Mocke)
Arrangements & conducting : Gavin Bryars

 

Coproduction : Murailles Music, La Soufflerie – Scène conventionnée de Rezé, Antipode – Rennes, Centquatre-Paris
With the support of the CNM, SACEM and Spedidam

LINKS

CONTACT