8 SONNEURS (PIPERS) FOR PHILIP GLASS - ERWAN KERAVEC
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In 1969, Philip Glass wrote ‘Two Pages’ (February), ‘Music in Fifths’ (June), ‘Music in Contrary Motion’, (July), and ‘Music in Similar Motion’ (November), using the same principle of repetition of simple musical elements which become progressively more and more complex. These four pieces became milestones in the brand-new musical movement of the time: minimalism. Today, they form part of Philip Glass’s ‘First Classics’. They were the starting point of the path that would lead Glass to compose his opera ‘Einstein on the Beach’ in 1975. In 1994, brought together for the first time, these four pieces were released on record by the Philip Glass Ensemble.
“My reasons for writing pieces are often really astonishing… ‘Two Pages’, you’ll remember, is in unison. Someone asked me if I was trying to follow the evolution of music history and if, therefore, my next piece would follow the same logic and would be in fifths. So, I wrote ‘Music In Fifths’. All the movement is parallel, so I was duty-bound to do one in contrary motion. After ‘Music In Contrary Motion’ came its opposite number, ‘Music In Similar Motion’. Everything was very simple. In 1969, no-one knew me, nor really suspected what I was capable of writing, so I could fool around as much as I wanted.” — Philip Glass in interview with Keith Potter and Dave Smith in 1975.
Perhaps this lightness is merely an illusion. The infinite repetition of these simple musical phrases reveals timbre and affords the sound enough time to unfold and occupy the space. These qualities are even better served when this music is played on instruments with the rich timbres produced by drones. This music is based on a sort of enchantment, which is the very reason for the existence of the bagpipes’ drone.
Philip Glass composed these pieces after a long journey in north Africa and India. Is that perhaps why these pieces are modal and perfectly suited to bagpipes? Astonishingly, they seem like they’re written for these instruments.
PROGRAMME
‘Two Pages’
‘Music in Contrary Motion’
‘Music in Fifths’
‘Music in Similar Motion’
by PHILIP GLASS
Artistic direction: Erwan Keravec
(Bag)pipers: Gaël Chauvin, Mickaël Cozien, Erwan Hamon, Gweltaz Hervé, Erwan Keravec, Guénolé Keravec, Vincent Marin, Enora Morice.
Music by: Philip Glass ©DUNVAGEN MUSIC PUBLISHERS INC Courtesy of PREMIERE MUSIC GROUP
Light design: Yves Godin
Costumes: Tifenn Morvan
Stage and light manager: Fabrice Le Fur
Tour manager: Marie Rouzaut
Administrator: Arnaud Caillé
Producer: Offshore, who is an association subsidized by the DRAC Brittany (Ministry of Culture and Communication) and the Regional Council of Brittany.
Co-producers: Le Centre Culturel André Malraux, scène nationale de Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, Le CERC-centre de creacion musicau, Pau
In residency at: La Soufflerie, scène conventionnée de Rezé
Support from: L’Etat - Préfet de la région Bretagne - DRAC Bretagne, la Région Bretagne, la Maison de la Musique Contemporaine (Grant for audio and video production), le Centre National de la Musique, Spectacle Vivant Bretagne, Adami, Spedidam
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Erwan Keravec is a highland bagpiper, composer and improviser. In seeking out the more unusual sounds, and ways of playing and listening to his instrument, far from its original cultural setting, he is exploring improvised music, free and ‘noise’ jazz, and establishing a repertoire of contemporary music for solo pipes, trio with solo voice and with choir. With an interest in movement and in settings associated with reinvention, he also writes, plays and improvises for dance. Trained by luthier and piper Jorj Botuha, and tutored in the playing style and repertoire of Scottish bagpipes, Erwan Keravec made his debut in Lokoal Mendon's Bagad Roñsed, and as a twosome with his brother Guénolé Keravec on the bombard. In 1996, he began to explore new aesthetics with the desire to break down the barriers around his instrument and its traditional culture. He then ventured into improvised music (free jazz, noise) and collaborated with Jean-Luc Cappozzo, Beñat Achiary, Mats Gustafsson, Julien Desprez, Will Guthrie, Otomo Yoshihide, Hamid Drake and others. Erwan Keravec has gradually moved the bagpipes away from their traditional use in order to explore the full range of peripheral sounds that this ancient instrument, found everywhere and in infinite variations, can produce: clusters, differentials, strikes, rubs, drones, taking advantage of its ability to emit continuous sounds and drones. The musician brought the bagpipes into the contemporary sphere and helped to enrich their repertoire. With the Offshore company he founded, he led ambitious ensemble projects, performing American minimalist works such as Terry Riley's “In C” for 20 players (2022) and “8 sonneurs pour Philip Glass” (2023). Besides his own compositions and improvisations, Keravec also plays works for solo bagpipe or for the ensembles he is involved with commissioned to composers such as Eliane Radigue, Heiner Goebbels, Oscar Bianchi, Philippe Leroux, José-Manuel López López, François Sarhan among others. He's collaborating increasingly in the field of choreography by writing, performing and improvising with Gaelle Bourges, Cécile Borne, Boris Charmatz, Emmanuelle Huynh, Mickaël Phelippeau, Alban Richard or Daniel Linehan. His ensembles perform in France and internationally (Europe, Canada, Australia), and have recorded several albums.