Parallallemande

Abstract

Parallallemande (working title)

The basis for \'Parallallemande\' (working title) is a composition by J.S. Bach, (Allemande from the Partita ll, BWV 1004) for a solo instrument. \"I\'ve superposed two recordings, one version performed by a violin, the other by a trumpet. Hearing the two interpretations together is a very particular hearing experience. 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 in a melody and slid from one instrument to another without noticing. The dance is a bodily and spatial interpretation of the music and is proposing a visualization of the phenomenon experienced while listening, but the relationship to the music can also be seen as \'interactive\' or reversible: the music proposing an \'audiolization\' of the dance.

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Parallallemande

Presentation

\'Parallallemande\' (working title) will be presented for the first time on October 11 2006 at the Kaaitheater in Brussels (Belgium)
It is a piece for two performers, Chrysa Parkinson and Thomas Hauert, in three parts, a solo by each performer and a duet.

\"The basis for the piece is a composition by J.S. Bach (Allemande from the Partita ll, BWV 1004) 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 very closely linked to the music, a bodily and spatial interpretation of the music and is proposing a visualization of the phenomenon experienced while listening. The movement is improvised on the music that has been thoroughly studied and incorporated by the dancers. The relationship between music and dance can also be seen as \'interactive\' or reversible: the music proposing an \'audiolization\' of the dance.

Each dancer is performing a solo on a recording of one of the instruments. On the superposition of the two instruments a duet is being performed.

The three parts (2 solo\'s and 1 duet) are being performed with some other short performances in between them, in order to keep the ears and eyes alert for the experiment. \" (Thomas Hauert)

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Credits

Concept & direction: Thomas Hauert
With & by: Chrysa Parkinson & Thomas Hauert
Music: J.S. Bach - Allemande from Partita ||, BWV 1004 (Alison Balsom: Trumpet. Antal Szalai: Violin. Thomas Hauert has combined these to make an original score)
Light design: Jan Van Gijsel & Thomas Hauert

Production: zoo
With the support of the Flemish Minister for Culture, Youth, Sport and Brussels Affairs, Pro Helvetia Arts Council of Switzerland, the Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie

Pro Helvetia

WVC Vlaanderen

Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie

Kaaitheater

Professional use

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Press reviews

Dansen met muziek
(2006-11-01, HArt)

Dansen met muziek

Published by HArt on 2006-11-01

Dansen met muziek

(…) De choreograaf splitste de solomuziek partituur van Bach in twee partijen. Op het podium staat hij tegenover de danseres Chrysa Parkinson. Elke nemen ze, op de interpretatie van respectievelijk trompet en viool, een solo voor hun rekening. Het is opmerkelijk - en precies dat waar Hauert op speelt - hoe onze zintuigen de subtiliteit van klankkleuren scherper waarnemen wanneer er te vergelijken valt. Het contrast tussen de extraverte, schelle klank van de trompet en de weemoediger herfstkleur van de viool vindt een parallel in de bewegingstaal van de dansers. Hoekig en grillig bij Hauert, organisch en vloeiend bij Parkinson.

Interessant wordt het wanneer in een derde stuk zowel de dansers als de instrumenten in een dubbel duet samenkomen. De analogieën tussen muziek en dans worden nu plots heel erg betekenisvol. Door middel van contactimprovisatie zoeken Hauert en Parkinson zich een harmonie in verstrengeling en schrijven ze aan een gedeelde partituur die hun dissonanten toelaat. Het is de exacte visualisatie van wat op dat moment in de muziek gebeurt.
 
Voor de verrassend hedendaags klinkende combinatie van de viool- en trompetsolo zou Bach zich ongetwijfeld in zijn graf omkeren, maar de techniek, het ‘contrapunt’, gebruikte hij zelf vaak. Als geen ander wist hij de tussenruimte van ‘zwevende tonen’, die het samenbrengen van twee gelijkwaardige partijlijnen met zich meebrengt, te benutten. Op dezelfde manier laat ook Hauert - via het magnetische spanningsveld dat tussen Parkinson en hemzelf gecreëerd wordt - de gedanste ruimte resoneren. Als toeschouwer is de synesthetische ervaring compleet: Hauert bereikt op die manier zij doel om de klanken te laten zien en de beelden te laten horen.

Julie Rodeyns
 
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Danser avec la musique
(2006-11-01, HArt)

Danser avec la musique

Published by HArt on 2006-11-01

(…) Sur scène, Thomas Hauert apparaît aux côtés de la danseuse Chrysa Parkinson. Chacun présente un solo, respectivement sur une interprétation à la trompette et au violon de la partition pour instrument solo de Bach. Il est frappant de constater à quel point - et c’est précisément sur cet élément que joue Hauert - la perception des timbres par nos sens gagne en acuité quand on établit des comparaisons. Le contraste entre la trompette, extravertie et éclatante, et la teinte automnale plus mélancolique du violon trouve un parallèle dans la gestuelle des danseurs. Anguleuse et fantasque chez Hauert, organique et fluide chez Parkinson.
 
Et lorsque, dans une troisième partie, tant les danseurs que les instruments se rejoignent pour un double duo, on est captivé. Les analogies entre la musique et la danse prennent, du coup, une signification très profonde. Par l’improvisation, Hauert et Parkinson recherchent ensemble une harmonie entremêlée et écrivent une partition partagée autorisant les dissonances. C’est la visualisation exacte de ce qui se passe dans la musique à cet instant.
 
Nul doute que Bach se retournerait dans sa tombe en entendant cette superposition -  aux sonorités étonnamment contemporaines - des deux solos au violon et à la trompette, mais le « contrepoint » est une technique qu’il utilisait souvent lui-même. Mieux que tout autre, il savait exploiter l’espace intermédiaire des « tons flottants », qu’entraîne la réunion de deux lignes de voix équivalentes. De la même manière, Hauert fait résonner l’espace dansé par le champ magnétique créé entre lui et Parkinson. Pour le spectateur, l’expérience synestéthique est complète. Hauert atteint ainsi son objectif : faire voir les sons et entendre les images.

Julie Rodeyns
 
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Dancing with music
(2006-11-01, HArt)

Dancing with music

Published by HArt on 2006-11-01

(…) On the stage Thomas Hauert finds himself face to face with the dancer Chrysa Parkinson. Both dance their own solo, following either a trumpet or a violin interpretation of the Bach’s solo score. It is remarkable how our senses perceive the subtlety of the timbre more sharply when we have things to compare with. This is precisely what Hauert wants to show. The contrast between the shrill, extrovert sound of the trumpet and the melancholic autumn colour of the violin finds a parallel in the dancers’ movement language. In Hauert it is awkward and capricious, in Parkinson organic and fluent.

The most interesting part comes in the third piece, when both the dancers and the instruments join in a double duet. The analogies between music and dance suddenly become very meaningful. By improvisation Hauert and Parkinson seek harmony in the entanglement and contribute to a shared score where dissonances are allowed. It is an exact, visual representation of what is happening in the music at that moment.

Bach would probably turn in his grave if he heard the surprisingly contemporary combination of the violin and the trumpet solo. However, he often used the counterpoint technique himself. He used the gap with gliding tones, created by the combination of two equivalent section lines, as no other. In the same way Hauert lets the space resound by the magnetic tension produced between Parkinson and himself. For the spectator the synaesthetic experience reaches its height as Hauert achieves his goal to show him sounds and let him hear images.

Julie Rodeyns
 
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