…Et autres chants d’oiseaux

Musical and ornithological conference

Blackbird, nightingale, finch or wren? Igor Stravinsky, Olivier Messiaen, Charlie Parker or Oum Kalsoum? This musical and ornithological lecture goes back to the sources of bird songs of all kinds and the works of musicians who have been inspired by them, freely decomposing and recomposing them.

You don’t need to be a specialist to appreciate a bird’s song, be amazed by a thrush’s phrase or the drumming of a woodpecker. Nature is an open ear, a royal road to the most incredible music. The first companion of this nature that surrounds us, the bird, with its spontaneous songs and multiple variations, free of any aesthetic, is music in its wild state.

“…Et Autres Chants d’Oiseaux” is both a concert and a lecture. You could say “concert-conference”, as the interest is twofold : the original music, both written and improvised, resonates with the ornithological and scientific conference, where people come to learn as much as to be entertained. It’s both a way of raising awareness of biodiversity and a musical exploration of nature’s song. With simplicity, humor and, at times, facetiousness, Bernard Fort reveals his great erudition throughout the musical conference.

This creation brings together six musicians, composers and improvisers: the La Forge trio – François Raulin (piano), Pascal Berne (double bass), Michel Mandel (clarinets), and three guest musicians – Bernard Fort (lecturer, electroacoustic composer and ornithologist), Guillaume Roy (viola), Jean-Marc Quillet (percussion).

Bernard Fort is joined on stage for his work in spatializing birdsong, electroacoustic creation, and sound diffusion in natural spaces for possible outdoor concerts; Guillaume Roy for his talents as an improviser and his knowledge of 20th-century music; Jean-Marc Quillet for his playful, unconventional virtuosity, and his knowledge of classical, jazz and contemporary percussion.

Examples of themes : What do they sing and why; The music of birds; Birds and music; The naturalistic soundscape…

Adaptable formats : duo, quartet or sextet.

BROADCAST

• Musée des Confluences (69) | in Duo as part of the Fête des Sciences, then in Sextet
• Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (69)
• Théâtre Sainte-Marie-d’en-Bas (38)
• Théâtre de l’Hexagone (38)/ in Sextet then in Duo with live broadcast in retirement home
• Villa Gillet (69)
• Festival de l’Arpenteur (38)
• Festival Détours de Babel (38)
• Saint-Julien-en-Quint (26)
• EHPAD Le Grand Cèdre (38)
• Festiwild – Ancien Monastère de Sainte-Croix (26)