Nō, with Masato Matsuura
With Masato Matsuura
Aedes has invited martial artist and Nō actor Master Masato Matsuura to join them in creating a new programme which brings together two different thousand-year-old traditions through singing, drama, arms and dance.
The programme revolves around choral masterpieces whose subject is the duality of human nature and the harmonious opposition which governs the unity of the world : works such as Arnold Schoenberg’s Friede auf Erden, a call for peace where hope and uncertainty are mingled ; and the Estonian composer Veljo Tormis’s Curse Upon Iron, a kind of incantation conceived as an allegory of the evils of war. Masato Matsuura deploys the wide range of his martial and dramatic expression in response to these works, interweaving Nō theatre and Utai chant with ancestral martial art.
The voices of the choir mingle with the sublime performance of the Nō actor as he uses the evocative power of traditional Japanese drama to conjure up imaginary or real characters as poetical fiction. Masato Matsuura’s voice rises from the depths, vibrating with the fluctuating rhythm of Utai chant.
Heart and body converse, sing and dance as they search for balance and unity between inwardness and exuberance. This is particularly vivid in the world premiere of Aurélien Dumont’s new work for Utai singer, choir, string bass and percussion.
Arnold SCHÖNBERG Friede auf Erden Op. 13 for unaccompanied choir
Gustav MAHLER Symphony No.2 in C minor « Resurrection » extract from the fifth movement
Robert SCHUMANN Ungewisses Licht, Opus 141 No.2 for unaccompanied double choir
Veljo TORMIS Curse upon Iron for choir, tenor, bass and Shaman drums
Aurélien DUMONT World premiere of a work for Utai singer, choir, string bass and percussion
Johann Sebastian BACH Motet Komm, Jesu Komm BWV 229 for choir and continuo
Iannis XENAKIS Rebonds B for percussion
Francis POULENC Un Loup, extract from Figure Humaine for unaccompanied choir
Traditionnal Utai chants
Philippe HERSANT Instants Limites, last movement for choir and soloist
A SPATIALIZED PROGRAMME WITH LIGHTING CREATION
1h25 with no interval
24 singers
1 Nō actor
2 instrumentalists (string bass and percussion)
1 conductor
1 lighting technician
1 production coordinator
Masato Matsuura Nō actor
Mathieu Romano conductor