I have in the last couple of weeks done a great deal of research on our new conductor Carlos Izcaray, on Cherubini's life and work, on Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and on the whole historical context from 1750's to the 1850's, a most turbulent part of French History. I have also listened to "our" Requiem several times, as well as other compositions of Cherubini, and other Requiems of the period.
I was lucky to have an overnight stop over in Rome on my return trip from Europe, and catch a performance of Mozart's Requiem (my hands down favorite) at the small Chiesa Santa Maria di Popolo. Not quite as moving as the one I experienced in The Prague Cathedral some years ago, but very enjoyable from my front row seat nevertheless. I was kind of reminded that this music WAS designed to be played in a CHURCH, where the acoustics differ from the concert hall.
My "Team" is having a first meeting with Pierre Ruhe and Carlos Izcaray at my house next week, before and over dinner, and I have a list of questions that will hopefully allow me to get to know our conductor better, and find out how he reads the piece, and what his interpretation of it will be.
I obviously want the images and the video I create to complement the music, and possibly illustrate and explain the story behind it and the historical context. To this day, this particular Requiem IS Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's Requiem. It is hardly ever performed except in France on January 21.
The images will flow with the music, and follow the tempo, moving mostly slowly over the rather "Angelic" first three movements, and getting faster and much more rythmic and almost violent in the Dies Irae. That is when heads roll...
I would really like a bunch of red lasers to fire in the rafters when the tympani rolls and the trumpets blow.
But the conductor has to remain in charge, and I do see myself in a supporting rôle, under HIS direction. There will have to be a back and forth ongoing conversation all through the creation of the video material to insure we remain on the same wave length, and that he really likes what I come up with.
When Pierre first mentioned the project to me, I spent a good deal of time on iTunes listening to part of different settings of the Requiem by different orchestras. It often takes only a few bars for me to know whether I like it or not. I thought Paganini's version was boring. A number of others seemed rather uninspired. I really liked the more flamboyant 1996 interpretation of Matthew Best and the Corydon Singers. Do keep in mind though that the magnificent Marche Funèbre was composed later in Cherubini's life, and is NOT part of "our" Requiem.
But ultimately, I will work with Carlos Izcaray's own interpretation, and I can't wait to hear it. From what I have heard so far from our conductor, It should have plenty of fire and energy.
I was lucky to have an overnight stop over in Rome on my return trip from Europe, and catch a performance of Mozart's Requiem (my hands down favorite) at the small Chiesa Santa Maria di Popolo. Not quite as moving as the one I experienced in The Prague Cathedral some years ago, but very enjoyable from my front row seat nevertheless. I was kind of reminded that this music WAS designed to be played in a CHURCH, where the acoustics differ from the concert hall.
My "Team" is having a first meeting with Pierre Ruhe and Carlos Izcaray at my house next week, before and over dinner, and I have a list of questions that will hopefully allow me to get to know our conductor better, and find out how he reads the piece, and what his interpretation of it will be.
I obviously want the images and the video I create to complement the music, and possibly illustrate and explain the story behind it and the historical context. To this day, this particular Requiem IS Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's Requiem. It is hardly ever performed except in France on January 21.
The images will flow with the music, and follow the tempo, moving mostly slowly over the rather "Angelic" first three movements, and getting faster and much more rythmic and almost violent in the Dies Irae. That is when heads roll...
I would really like a bunch of red lasers to fire in the rafters when the tympani rolls and the trumpets blow.
But the conductor has to remain in charge, and I do see myself in a supporting rôle, under HIS direction. There will have to be a back and forth ongoing conversation all through the creation of the video material to insure we remain on the same wave length, and that he really likes what I come up with.
When Pierre first mentioned the project to me, I spent a good deal of time on iTunes listening to part of different settings of the Requiem by different orchestras. It often takes only a few bars for me to know whether I like it or not. I thought Paganini's version was boring. A number of others seemed rather uninspired. I really liked the more flamboyant 1996 interpretation of Matthew Best and the Corydon Singers. Do keep in mind though that the magnificent Marche Funèbre was composed later in Cherubini's life, and is NOT part of "our" Requiem.
But ultimately, I will work with Carlos Izcaray's own interpretation, and I can't wait to hear it. From what I have heard so far from our conductor, It should have plenty of fire and energy.
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