sounding out in the south of france 2016 ctd

18 06 2016

Auvillar1bAuvillar2bCieutat1bCieutat2bGedresbLuz1bLuz2bStMartory1bStMartory2b

 

During the second half of my stay in France, visits to locations were a little more leisurely and i took the opportunity to revisit other know locations.

The town of Auvillar towers over the Garonne river, located on the travel route to Compostelle, it features an old covered market square built with measures for grain and cereals – some of which are now rare.
It is a busy place with tourism and local trade, and similarly, the church is buzzing with bursts of activity. In between visitors and prayers, i managed to squeeze a little empty space with melodic overtones…

While travelling across the pyrenees, a few places punctuated the journey. in Barèges, spa town situated high up in the mountains, a powerful torrent crosses the town. After an energising meditation by the water, i stopped in the small local chapel to keep my practice fingers running along. And of course, inspired by the gentle yet powerful vibe, i recorded a couple of pieces.

In luz, it was a pleasure to revisit the 12th century building of the fortified Templar church. The solid outside wall are drenched in sun and exposed to wild elements while the inside, in contrast, is dark and completely still. This displacement mirrored a space i could feel between the force and gentleness of the natural elements, so present and powerful in the area.

My head still in the rushing waters of torrents and high mountain glaciers after a day walk. i stopped for meditation in a small town, on the road returning from gavarnie. for once, i did not have my saxophone with me and decided to put to use a brand new shakuhachi i had just finished making. Its frail and gentle sound filled the grand space of the church and suddenly echoed the force i’d felt while watching the creation of a new waterfall from snow melting.

The last day in the mountain area, i had to make a couple of stops, just to review an amazing church i remembered from my previous trip. In the small passage town of Cieutat, the church was still just as overwhelming, but the more active feel of that particular morning removed some of the mystical quality. These last two visits were punctuated with flower duty, water changes and general church bustle. As i settled into the feel of the place, i caught myself playing similar chord structures and colours to what i had played during my last visit there. Was this harmonic movement really in the stone? Part of this place… For a second, i had a weird flashback, and yet made no effort to repeat the material from memory. And of course the improvisation took me somewhere else, but i could sense that that same colour / feel / tone was in the music, only slightly different – like a person you know well and meet again further down the line of their personal history.

Rushing down the mountains and on the road back to civilisation, on the way to my next gig, another quick stop took me to St Martory church… The flower duty and water changing provided background and clear marks where the atmosphere was saturated with the underlying sound of the nearby river. At first, the drone of passing water merged with traffic entrained me to play long overtones and focus on the interplay between harmonics contained within the breath sound. Soon, a pulse developed, water rippled, melody splashed. gesture. movement and form.

 

 

 

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le repos des plaines
alto saxophone, 02 june 2016
église de st sardos

 

 

 

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jours de lente
alto saxophone, 02 june 2016
église de st sardos

 

 

 

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roads and waterways
alto saxophone, 27 may 2016
église de st martory

 

 

 

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new flowers
alto saxophone, 27 may 2016
église de st martory

 

 

 

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the journey of water
alto saxophone, 27 may 2016
église de cieutat

 

 

 

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crest lines
alto saxophone, 27 may 2016
église de cieutat

 

 

 

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ripples from falling pebbles
2.1 shakuhachi, 26 may 2016
église de gèdres

 

 

 

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contrepoint de rivière et vent
alto saxophone, 25 may 2016
église de luz

 

 

 

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courte descente libre
alto saxophone, 25 may 2016
église de luz

 

 

 

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road squiggles
alto saxophone, 24 may 2016
église de barèges

 

 

 

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torrent under a low sky
alto saxophone, 24 may 2016
église de barèges

 

 

 

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sarrasin champart
alto saxophone, 17 may 2016
église de auvillar

 

 

 

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millet avoine
alto saxophone, 17 may 2016
église de auvillar

 

 

 

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sounding out in the south of france 2016

14 06 2016

PBuff1bPBuff2bStSardos11bStSardos12bStSardos13bStSardos14bVerdun11bVerdun12bVerdun13b

This year, my trip to France has been much focused around a series of concerts with my friend Henry Herteman. And i will share many documents of these in a future post.

Sounding out is of course always active as i have my saxophone everywhere i go, and if not, some new shakuhachi is near at hand. So any opportunity, or rather, any possible place i encounter is always a pleasure.

But this time, only a few choice cuts are on the menu. i have instead concentrated my efforts on old favourite locations and a few surprise finds. Each recording is also shorter and more focused.

In this post i present the first half of my explorations while at the beginning of my journey. and it begins very early on, after driving through the night, and a coffee break after dawn, i found myself walking around the picturesque town of Pierre Buffière and discovered the church was open. So not quite into the first leg of my trip, and still in transit, i decided to make a morning call and enter the dark resonant space that offered a cool haven and a change of pace.

A sense of movement is still in me, slowly tuning in to the stillness of the place. A clash between the bright day starting outside and the dark interior. Feeling tired and displaced. My mind wanders and continues its journey into imaginary landscapes. Traveling light and swift.

Soon after settling down into my new home, i visited the local church that remains a favourite with its vast sound. St Sardos is a quiet village with outsized church design. Its magnificent reverb is inspiring and lifting while calming and instilling silence. A strange combination that seems to bring out of me the most gentle melodies and adventurous harmonic work made possible by the very long tail.
As soon as i started making a sound, i slipped into a timeless zone. all is suspended.

And finally, the third location i present today is the deep blue interior of Verdun sur Garonne. This place is so very poignant, it always had a deep effect on me.
The strange feeling of a known place. But a different one that has traces of memory so fine it escapes the touch.
There is no other way to describe this session, but with a quote: it is the time my saxophone gently weeps.

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paysage connu
alto saxophone, 06 may 2016
église st michel, verdun sur garonne

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mémoire augmentée
alto saxophone, 06 may 2016
église st michel, verdun sur garonne

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des phi au point de faille
alto saxophone, 06 may 2016
église st michel, verdun sur garonne

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cascade de blues
alto saxophone, 06 may 2016
église st michel, verdun sur garonne

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l’oubli
alto saxophone, 06 may 2016
église st michel, verdun sur garonne

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first shade
alto saxophone, 05 may 2016
église de st sardos

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painting in relief
alto saxophone, 05 may 2016
église de st sardos

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the convent
alto saxophone, 05 may 2016
église de st sardos

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if i knew
alto saxophone, 05 may 2016
église de st sardos

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raining red
alto saxophone, 05 may 2016
église de st sardos

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silent flower
alto saxophone, 05 may 2016
église de st sardos

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by night and by day
alto saxophone, 04 may 2016
église de ste croix, pierre buffière

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by vales and hills
alto saxophone, 04 may 2016
église de ste croix, pierre buffière

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sounding out in the south of france

2 11 2015

StSardos2bMazerescampan

summer 2015. i retrace my steps from a previous visit in the region, finding new venues to accommodate meditation and music. here are documents that follow new explorations of architecture and sacred sites, sounding out wonderful spaces of magnificent splendour and spirit. i feel once again that the path has led me through increasingly deep experiences and i hope that you will enjoy this new page. indeed this set of recent recordings show that the music keeps on growing and so is my experience of deep listening. getting closer to the underlying concept of this whole project, i keep learning and discovering, finding new understanding of what is happening in the space between improvisation, sound vibrations and our harmonic relationship with the environment. and the more i find it difficult to discriminate between art and life.

needless to say, each and every one of these experiences is very special to me. and much is due to the amazing and inspiring locations i visit.
i really hope that these audio documents will carry an impression of this for your enjoyment.

StGironslagrasseVerdun

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lapis sky
alto saxophone, 07 august 2015
église st michel, verdun sur garonne

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nocturne
alto saxophone, 07 august 2015
église st michel, verdun sur garonne

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mouvement céleste
alto saxophone, 07 august 2015
église st michel, verdun sur garonne

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prayer for silence
alto saxophone, 01 august 2015
église st michel, lagrasse

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prayer for the sun
alto saxophone, 01 august 2015
église st michel, lagrasse

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prayer for icecream
alto saxophone, 01 august 2015
église st michel, lagrasse

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marking time
alto saxophone, 28 july 2015
église st giron

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le passage
alto saxophone, 28 july 2015
église st giron

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abbatiale 1
alto saxophone, 27 july 2015
abbaye cistercienne de l’escaladieu

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abbatiale 2
alto saxophone, 27 july 2015
abbaye cistercienne de l’escaladieu

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abbatiale 3
alto saxophone, 27 july 2015
abbaye cistercienne de l’escaladieu

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habitat des moines 1 grand salon
alto saxophone, 27 july 2015
abbaye cistercienne de l’escaladieu

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habitat des moines 1 paysages
alto saxophone, 27 july 2015
abbaye cistercienne de l’escaladieu

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rapture
alto saxophone, 27 july 2015
église de cieutat

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third passage
alto saxophone, 26 july 2015
abbatiale de st savin

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the rock
alto saxophone, 26 july 2015
abbatiale de st savin

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waterfall in blue light
alto saxophone, 26 july 2015
abbatiale de st savin

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empty streets
alto saxophone, 25 july 2015
église de campan

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dummy town
alto saxophone, 25 july 2015
église de campan

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silent crossing
alto saxophone, 25 july 2015
église de campan

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retour en arrière
alto saxophone, 21 july 2015
église de mazères

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saline flotation
alto saxophone, 21 july 2015
église de mazères

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medieval meanderings
alto saxophone, 20 july 2015
église de rieux sur volvestre

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filmic gestures
alto saxophone, 16 july 2015
église de montbeton

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the space between
alto saxophone, 16 july 2015
église de montbeton

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it is said
alto saxophone, 16 july 2015
église de montbeton

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pastoral departure
alto saxophone, 09 july 2015
église de st sardos

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mountain road
alto saxophone, 09 july 2015
église de st sardos

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the wild
alto saxophone, 09 july 2015
église de st sardos

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mer de nuages
alto saxophone, 09 july 2015
église de st sardos

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sounding out in france 2012

23 10 2012

for the first time in years, i returned to france. the visit was short and i had to cram many things in. music, of course, was one of them. i met with friends and reconnected with some of the projects i had in the past. i even managed to play live as my friend heddy very kindly invited me to perform a solo at his venue la maison peinte. this was my first solo (on wind instruments) and first time i played the shakuhachi in public.

another part of this trip was to travel with a friend to the mountains and replenish with the pyrenées’ powerful energy and fresh air. walks in the hills, meditation on powerful peaks, near cascades and mountain chapels were all on the menu. and i had quite a feast.

this was also an opportunity to find new locations to record. i came across some real gems, often found by chance.

after hours of travel, the day was drawing to an end. it was time for meditation and a storm was brewing. the road winding up the mountain finally led to an isolated village. and just in time, i found a delightful little church to take shelter. i played a few pieces there, inspired by the rich atmosphere, the subtle and gentle feel of the place and a backdrop of storm, cows and birds that populated the area.

some other places i already knew, but it was a great pleasure to revisit the aude country.
after a swim in the cold river at the bottom of the canyon, i had a special moment in the chapel built in st antoine’s cave. the hermitage de galamus is charged with the wisdom of monks who lived there before the cave was turned into a chapel.
although it is considered a tourist attraction, the place has kept a genuine feel and it is a pleasure to visit and spend time there.
many thanks to the attendant who was very keen to chat about the place and tell some interesting stories. and mostly, as he was interested in my project after seeing i was carrying a large saxophone case on my back… he very kindly invited me to play in the cave. i did not even need to ask. and it was a real treat.

closer to home, there are two churches that i knew and yet had never played in. these turned out to be quite a surprise. in st sardos village, the church is dark and cold. it seems very uninviting at first but the massive building has a very special reverb. it is quite overwhelming and very colourful. once tamed, the sound is just grand.

on the way to play a solo gig near toulouse, i stopped in verdun sur garonne. i knew this place from before. although the town is not very big, the church is very impressive, with gorgeous paintings, statues and a deep blue saturated colour covering the whole place. this is the place of st michael whose sword cuts the ties of ignorance. a large statue in a corner of the church inspires awe (see picture). it is with utmost reverence that i started to play a very pared down and soulful improvisation… and what turns out to be a favourite, very inspired, deep and infused piece.

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sur le chemin du retour

abbatiale de vigeois

limousin

soprano saxophone, 11 june 2012

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tous ces non dits

église de verdun

tarn et garonne

soprano saxophone, 08 june 2012

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sabre vérité

église de verdun

tarn et garonne

soprano saxophone, 08 june 2012

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paysage imaginaire

église de st sardos

tarn et garonne

1.95 shakuhachi improvisation, 07 june 2012

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paysage retrouvé

église de st sardos

tarn et garonne

soprano saxophone improvisation, 07 june 2012

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paysage lointain

église de st sardos

tarn et garonne

1.95 shakuhachi, 06 june 2012

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a candle for st antoine

hermitage de galamus

pays de l’aude

1.95 shakuhachi improvisation, 01 june 2012

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a gentle light in the water

hermitage de galamus

pays de l’aude

soprano saxophone improvisation, 01 june 2012

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the coucou song

hermitage de galamus

pays de l’aude

soprano saxophone improvisation, 01 june 2012

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sortie de classe

chapelle ste marie de belloc

dorres, pyrénées

soprano saxophone improvisation, 29 may 2012

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silence en montagne

chapelle ste marie de belloc

dorres, pyrénées

soprano saxophone improvisation, 29 may 2012

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en attendant l’orage

église d’arquizat

ariège

soprano saxophone improvisation, 25 may 2012

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recherche d’un abri

église d’arquizat

ariège

soprano saxophone improvisation, 25 may 2012

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pour la fermeture

église de st girons

ariège

1.95 shakuhachi improvisation, 25 may 2012

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entre deux

église de bruniquel

tarn et garonne

1.95 shakuhachi improvisation, 18 may 2012

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