The interactive music ensemble offers a concert tomorrow at Le Palot. Discover a mixture of traditional instruments and computer-based creation.
“The spectator is at the heart of composition, music and sound.” That sums up the appeal of Friday’s concert at Le Palot. From [time cropped in the scan], the École nationale de musique du Pays de Montbéliard will present an unusual and exceptional concert by its interactive music ensemble.
This variable group comprises ENM teachers, outside composers and composition students. Its purpose is to enable real-time work between composer and performer. In concrete terms, the music calls on traditional instruments on stage, which then interact with computer-based work. The resulting sound is often surprising.
“The music is sometimes highly specialised, sometimes very accessible,” says Gilles Faget, responsible for cultural development at ENM. “For the ear it is always very playful. The spectator, placed among the loudspeakers, is very active.”
The approach is interesting educationally too. For several years, writing and composition have been a major ENM focus. Another distinctive feature is that the composition curriculum, led by four composers, gives new technologies a prominent place. A residency policy also enables foreign composers to contribute to school projects and help renew the repertoire.
This momentum has acquired an international dimension: many concerts and exchanges have taken place with Italy, Germany, Chile and Argentina. Students attending composition classes in recent years have come from Europe and the Americas.
Not bad for a town the size of Montbéliard! Is the City of Princes becoming a capital of interactive music? We will leave that question open, but working conditions are undeniably almost professional. Come and see tomorrow evening.
S. D.
Caption: Composer and teacher Jacopo Baboni, in the foreground, encourages a student whose piece will be performed publicly. Photo: Francis Reinoso.
Interactive music ensemble concert, Friday, 8.30 p.m., Le Palot, Montbéliard. Free admission.