Event

My project combines three sound units: a mixed vocal group (3 female and 3 male voices), an instrumental ensemble (9 instrumentalists), and an electronic environment. The latter unit includes both sound files and a system for real-time sound transformations that were preconfigured at the IRCAM studios (thanks to music technology engineer Serge Lemouton, with whom I have been collaborating since 2007), as well as two electric and electronic instruments (electric guitar and digital keyboards). The two aforementioned instrumentalists will play instruments that establish a connection between the live-sung and played instrumental sounds and the electronic sounds. In particular, the two MIDI keyboards will serve as an interface and link between the conductor and the music computers (which handle the transformations, the transmission of sound files, spatial representation, etc.).

The texts will be at the center of the entire compositional process. For this reason, the voices will be amplified to allow for a variety of vocal expressions, ranging from singing to speaking (singing, whispering, onomatopoeia, stuttering, laughter, etc.). Finally, some text passages will be recorded in advance, edited in the studio, and played back during the concert as a counterpoint to other forms of vocal expression.

For me, none of these writings are works of fiction, but rather forms of expression by people who are prevented from communicating directly with others; they bring back to life the spirits of those who wrote them. With my score, I want to build a casket that offers a glimpse into these people’s lives. To borrow an expression from Pasolini, the writings I have selected are like fireflies in a world of darkness, where what is considered madness leads to (sometimes necessary) confinement, but above all to oblivion or mistreatment (which still frequently occurs today due to a lack of care, staff, and resources).

Frédéric Durieux
December 2022