For its 25th anniversary, Toulouse les Orgues holds its course against all odds
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Toulouse. Convent of the Jacobins. 9-X-2021. Resonance. Supersonus Ensemble: Wolf Janscha, harp harp; Angela Ambrosini, nyckelharpa; Anna-Liisa Eller, kennel; Eva-Maria Rusche, harpsichord and organ; Anna-Maria Hefele, overtone song
Saint-Etienne Cathedral. 9-X-2021. The organ and the bird. Catalina Vicens, organ and organetto. Pierre Hamon, flute. Jean Boucault and Johnny Rasse, bird singers
Under the artistic direction of Yves Rechsteiner, the Toulouse les Orgues festival gives pride of place to original artistic creations and unexpected encounters.
This twenty-sixth edition includes in its programming the final of the Toulouse International Organ Competition, which had not taken place since 2017. This event allows the discovery of young organists from all over the world in a free program on the instrument. of their choice. New for this year, three categories are available: baroque organs, symphonic organs and 20th century organse century, for three separate prices. An international jury distinguished the following three winners: Quentin du Verdier (France) in a French classical program at the organ of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux, Gabriele Agrimonti (Italy) in symphonic transcriptions at the organ of Saint-Sernin, and Adam Tabajdi (Hungary) in an XX programe century at the organ of the Dominican convent. Once again, this competition proved the exceptionally high standard of a whole new generation of organists.
Unusual instruments at the Jacobins convent
It is on a very original sound journey that the Supersonus ensemble invites us, in a program, which weaves its way between ancient music and ethnic music, including contemporary creation. Associated with the harpsichord and the positive organ, we discover the kannel (a kind of traditional Estonian psaltery), the nickelharpa (traditional Swedish bowed instrument) and the harp harp. But the main originality of this ensemble is to call on the singer Anna-Maria Hefele, specialist in overtone singing. This vocal technique, which allows the emission of a song to several by a single person by amplifying the natural harmonics of the voice, is found in many musical traditions of the world, particularly in Upper Asia (Mongolia), India and in South Africa. This superposition of a fundamental sound with its high harmonics is reminiscent of the playing of the organ pipes, and the title of “Resonance” given to this program then takes on its full meaning. The Supersonus ensemble appropriates the baroque repertoire (Biber, Rameau, Falconieri, Frescobaldi, Handel …) in transcriptions for its instrumentarium, where the violin is replaced by the nyckelharpa of Angela Ambrosini, and where the kannel of Anna- Liisa Eller works with the organ for accompaniment or takes the place of the harpsichord for very virtuoso solos. The intervention of overtone singing adds new colors to this program and reinforces its timeless character, to the point of giving it the appearance of trance music. Scandinavian musical traditions are superimposed on Indian and African influences to take the listener far from his usual references. We let ourselves be carried away in an almost shamanic world, without being surprised that jazz rhythms mingle with traditional melodies, as in the encore on the Madness of Spain. A moment out of time under the vaults of the Jacobins’ chapter house.
Flutes, organ and birdsong
Another original idea from Yves Rechsteiner: to invite “bird singers” to mix their songs with the organ of Catalina Vicens and the flutes of Pierre Hamon. The organ and the bird have some connivance: we can think of the nightingale games imitating the trills of birds thanks to pipes overturned in a water receiver, or of the small mechanical organs called serinettes, which are said to be specific to teach song to canaries … And don’t we say of an organ case hung above the void like that of the Saint-Etienne cathedral that it is built “in a swallow’s nest”? For this program, the bird is the central figure of a poetic journey where improvisation is based on medieval music and that of Amerindian traditions. Johnny Rasse and Jean Boucault, the “bird singers” (but should we not rather call “whistlers”?) Have developed an art of imitation by observation in nature, and have in their repertoire more than 500 songs of birds made without any instrument.
The concert opens with excerpts from Codex Faenza at the great organ, while birds can be heard which seem to be hidden under the high vaults of the cathedral. We then discover the incredible variety of flutes played by Pierre Hamon, a great specialist in medieval instrumentarium but also in traditional flutes from pre-Columbian America. Flutes of all sizes interacting with Catalina Vicens’ organetto, a small portable organ whose sound has a lot of analogy with that of recorders. The organist herself creates the wind for her instrument using hand bellows, which gives the organetto a very lively, almost physiological sound. And in the middle of this dialogue arrive the songs of birds, like an invitation to travel. Alongside the various Amerindian flutes, Pierre Hamon also uses fascinating terracotta water whistling vases. Between initiation rites and parades of seduction, the musicians humorously stage real ornithological fights with a lot of feather wings and percussions. A confusing and dreamlike musical encounter.
Photo credits: © Christian Glaenzer; Jean-Marc Aspe
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More details
Toulouse. Convent of the Jacobins. 9-X-2021. Resonance. Supersonus Ensemble: Wolf Janscha, harp harp; Angela Ambrosini, nyckelharpa; Anna-Liisa Eller, kennel; Eva-Maria Rusche, harpsichord and organ; Anna-Maria Hefele, overtone song
Saint-Etienne Cathedral. 9-X-2021. The organ and the bird. Catalina Vicens, organ and organetto. Pierre Hamon, flute. Jean Boucault and Johnny Rasse, bird singers
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