7pm | Friday 5 August 2016 | Cubitt Square, Stable Street, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4AB
Muziektheater Transparant
Tête à Tête is delighted to return to King’s Cross for the Cubitt Sessions, a free, outdoor live performance series featuring six days of brand new and improvised pop-up opera.
Produced by Aventura Musica and Muziektheater Transparant co-produced by JazzLab Series and Opera Days Rotterdam. With the support of Flagey.
Secrets is a music theater piece formed entirely with secrets, anecdotes and thoughts entrusted to us anonymously by everyday people.
What are secrets?
Why do we need them?
Why can’t we keep them?
How often have we heard, or said to another person: “Can I let you in on a secret? I’ll die if I don’t share it, but you mustn’t tell anyone!”. I asked myself if secrets only really exist from the moment they are “voiced” to another person in a kind of “ritual of complicity”, this pact of trust which is doomed to be broken repeatedly, and what would happen if we asked people to allow us to give a voice to their private stories? The answer came in the form of over 130 anonymous gifts, many of them from Senior citizens who were unable to come to the places where we had left “Secrets” boxes, but who dictated their stories to others whom they trusted. We also opened a secure website where people could write their stories. From first kisses, to feelings of guilt, loss and rage, to unique fetishes, all the stories are at once individual and universal, because one can relate to all of them on some emotional, intellectual or spiritual level. Each secret has a specific rhythm and musicality and we create a musical setting for each secret with respect for its own character. The secret itself tells us how it wishes to be “voiced”… Claron McFadden
While composing the music for Secrets, various worlds and ideas converged. The Massot-Florizoone-Horbaczewski trio has been working together for nine years now. We only play our own music, which usually has been written for the trio especially. Three musicians and five instruments – tuba, euphonium, trombone, cello and accordion. We soon found that we were not so much writing for the instruments as for the group as a whole. The cello plays parts for tuba, the tuba and accordion counter voice and the accordion does a cello trick. There are no drums or bass, which calls for a rhythmically strong composition. This is also the case when Claron’s elastic voice joins us; only then we also have text to take into account. Words. But also ‘meaning’. We are relatively inexperienced in this field.
We were presented about a hundred ‘secrets’. Michel Massot and myself wrote most of these compositions. Marine Horbaczewski was responsible for two compositions. Because we were already composing, we combined some secrets with a composition or a budding idea. In other cases we revised texts – as not every teller of secrets is necessarily a great writer – and then put them to music, word for word.
It is not our goal to solely create mysterious music or to play only sad songs. As the programme evolved towards completion, we composed in different styles, rhythms, and harmonies to end up with a varied programme. The instrumentation, helped by Claron’s voice – is specific enough to allow us some room to stylistically wonder about. Not everything is composed. Usually, we write three or four parts. Sometimes a second part will be the basis for an improvisation, sometimes nothing but the harmony is the grid for ‘spoken words’… Sometimes we improvise without a composition and sometimes we don’t improvise, but interpret the composition. But the music is always lively, elastic anditleavesroomforinterpretation,variationandimprovisation. TuurFlorizoone
This performance of Secrets was adapted to be performed outside and shortened a little. A trailer of the performance with projections can be seen here.
For more information about Secrets, see Muziektheater Transparant
For more about producers Muziektheater Transparant, visit: http://www.transparant.be/en
To view the full programme for King’s Cross’ Cubitt Sessions, visit: https://www.kingscross.co.uk/event/cubitt-sessions
Photos from our Cubitt Sessions are available below, © Claire Shovelton 2016.
Composition Tuur Florizoone, Michel Massot and Marine Horbaczewski
Concept, Vocals Claron McFadden
Dramaturge Tobias Kokkelmans
Chromatic accordion Tuur Florizoone
Tuba, Trombone Michel M
Cello Marine Horbaczewski
Composition Tuur Florizoone, Michel Massot and Marine Horbaczewski
Concept, Vocals Claron McFadden
Dramaturge Tobias Kokkelmans
Chromatic accordion Tuur Florizoone
Tuba, Trombone Michel M
Cello Marine Horbaczewski
Claron McFadden (°1961) After her studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester New York soprano Claron McFadden became a big name in both the Baroque as the traditional and modern repertoire. In the opera world she is a much sought-after soloist, but she also participated in several projects that combined other art forms. She is known for her unique interpretation of contemporary music. In 2006 she was awarded the Amsterdam Prize for the Arts and she has been nominated for a Grammy Award. www.claronmcfadden.com
Trio Massot – Florizoone – Horbaczewski With accordionist Tuur Florizoone and tuba player Michel Massot we find two inspired improvisers, born performers and refined composers on stage. Their dialogue with cellist Marine Horbaczewski creates a sober and controlled craziness. The unlikely combination and the abundant timbres of the tuba, trombone, accordion and cello build seductive, poetic miniatures. Their elegant repertoire of own compositions
and free improvisation hovers between contemporary classical music and jazz.
Tuur Florizoone (1978) is known for his soundtrack for the film Aanrijding in Moscou (2008) and his groups Mixtuur and Tricycle. He also plays in the trio Oliver’s Cinema of the Dutch trumpet player Eric Vloeimans and performed with Philip Catherine, Jean Louis Matinier and Jo Lemaire, amongst others. Tuur teaches jazz accordion at the Conservatoire de Liege.
Michel Massot (1960) is a classically educated musician who, for over twenty-five years, has been demonstrating to the world how a tuba wants to be played. Michel was a hit in jazz ensembles like Trio Grande, Rêve d’ Éléphant, Kris Defoort’s Dreamtime, Mäâk’s Spirit, Trio Bravo, La Grande Formation and the French big band Tous Dehors. Furthermore he performed also with Louis Sclavis, Han Bennink, Evan Parker, Kenny Wheeler, Rabih Abou Khalil, Ictus and lots of other artists. Currently he teaches free improvisation at the Conservatoire de Liege.
Marine Horbaczewski (1981) combines her classical training in the cello with an urge for free improvisation and exploration on her instrument. She collaborated with Richard Galliano, Ivan Paduard, Garrit List and founded the group Wang Wei.