okt 13, 2009
“Parallallemande” at the Biennale de Charleroi/Danses
The starting point for this project is a composition by Johann Sebastian Bach: the Allemande from “Partita no. 2 for a solo instrument”. “Parallallemande” consists of three five-minute parts: a solo by Thomas Hauert to a recorded trumpet performance of the Allemande, a solo by Mat Voorter to a recorded performance of the same piece on the violin, and lastly a duet between Hauert and Voorter to the two soundtracks superimposed.
Thomas Hauert on “Parallallemande”:
“The basis for the piece is a composition by Johann Sebastian Bach for a solo instrument. I’ve superposed two recordings; one version performed by a violin, the other by a trumpet. The two interpretations are quite different in colour, dynamics and tempo since the two musicians performed the piece as soloists and the two instruments offer certain specific qualities or impose specific limits.
Hearing the two interpretations together is a very particular hearing experience. Besides the obvious counterpoint, harmonies and dissonances that occur, it is as if the movement of the music (the melodies, the dynamics) is spatially perceived inside our head. Our attention is being split in two sometimes to follow both instruments, or we are being tricked into hearing new melodies because our ears missed a turn and slid from one instrument to another without noticing.
The dance is a bodily and spatial interpretation of the music. It is proposing a visualization of the phenomenon experienced while listening. The relationship between music and dance can also be seen as ‘interactive’ or reversible: the music proposing an ‘audiolization’ of the dance.”
Receive the ZOO newsletter