Monthly Archives: March 2021

Two possible casting options:

5 singers and organetto.

5 singers and organetto, with Jean Boucault and Johnny Rasse – Les Chanteurs-Oiseaux (The Birdsong imitators).

Works by Borlet, Solage, Guillaume de Machaut, Guillaume Dufay, Clément Janequin together with pieces of unknown origin from the 14^th century Chantilly Codex.

Angels, rare birds, and other more familiar warblers appear throughout the programme. The entire history of music is filled with their songs. A bird is a poet, a prophet, and a singer:  the miraculous alliance of art with nature.

In the Middle Ages, human song was regarded as an emulation of birdsong which itself was nothing less than the earthly echo of the angels. An alluring ancestry in which trills vied with sounds from deeper in the throat.

Drôles d’oiseaux (Odd Birds) is a fine tribute to our feathered friends that is both enchanting and poetic as well as a tad mischievous. A concert in which virtuosity and grace become one.

For our added pleasure, the concert can be supplemented with the inclusion of those two renowned birdsong imitators, Jean Boucault and Johnny Rasse (www.chanteurs-oiseaux.com).

This programme can be performed outdoors, which offers the birds in the garden a chance to join in the concert!

A NEW PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

3 actress-singers, 1 musician and 1 stage manager.

A musical tale for the stage with vocals, instruments, masks and puppets.

Featuring works by Guillaume de Machaut and Moniot d’Arras, and pieces of unknown origin from the 13th century; with Caroline Marçot. Script by Anouch Paré.

Director: Véronique Samakh. Lighting design: Simon Fritschi.

Costumes: Maxence Rapetti. Scenography: Ludovic Meunier.

For all audiences aged 6 and above. Running time 45-50 minutes.

Mahaut, fille de bois, is a magical performance set in an imaginary Middle Ages as richly detailed as the illuminating illustrations of a medieval manuscript. It is carried along by specialists of medieval music, all of whom share the desire to combine the highest artistic standards whilst facilitating easy and immediate access.

According to an old legend, a long time ago, fairies stole babies from their cribs and replaced them with plain pieces of wood. After expending considerable love and affection, the wood comes to life… and so begins the story of Mahaut, our heroine. As in many tales, there is a spiritual journey of initiation, interspersed with exciting adventures and colourful characters, during which, laughter, irreverence, and poetry combine with music to question identity, legitimacy, lineage, kinship and love. Along the way, we will encounter Casserole the nanny, Fae des Houles, a griffin, the Mad Knight, a number of gargoyles, la Dame ofde Ventremort and many more.

The production is designed to be mobile with an adaptable format, for a maximum capacity of 200 people.

A coproduction of the Compagnie du Carrosse d’or (93), the Théâtre du château d’Eu (76), the Quai des Arts (61), the DOC (14), and l’Arsenal (27)

13th century motets of unknown origin, John Cage, Jacques Rebotier, Ghérasim Luca.

5 female singers
1 actress-singer

The “natural music” of the word forms the basic raw material for this programme, which places the emphasis on humour and dramatic quality. The poems of Ghérasim Luca, who weaves words to the point of absurdity, forge a comical and metaphysical bond throughout the concert. All the pieces in the programme smack of playfulness and fun. Often surprising and whimsical, these precious manifestations of sound architecture vie with one another for inventiveness.
The motet was very fashionable in the 13th century and skilfully played with musical discourse and dialectic art. It superimposed and intertwined different texts and languages, bloating, gasping, rambling, mocking or praising at will.
The recent pieces of the programme share this spirit, this taste for experimentation and the extraordinary. They use language in a virtuoso and musical manner.
Poetry gets mingled with it, entangling and untangling, giving the chatterboxes a voice. Chatter, glibness, cackle and eloquence!