radio piece in 3 chapters based on La Légende de St Julien l’Hospitalier by Gustave Flaubert.
This piece is part of the sonic translations cycle. This approach consists in a pre-existing artwork (visual, musical, literary) as score for new sonic works.
In Nouvelle, the sound material is based exclusively on what I called the sonic sentences of the original text. Those sonic sentences were organised in 4 categories:
The foley sounds: “the oak chests fairly groaned under the weight of money-bags” — “(…) deafened by the buzzing of the insects” — “and everywhere reigned a silence so deep that the swish of a sash or the echo of a sigh could be distinctly heard.”
The soundscapes: “The wind only howled and the morning mists were fast dissolving.” — “while a bell tolled in the distance” — “The crowing of a cock vibrated in the air. Other cocks responded; it was day;” — “On holidays, when the cathedral bells rang out at daybreak and filled the people’s hearts with gladness”.
Music: “(…) sound of the harps (…)” — “She could hear angels’ voices” — “nestling at his feet, she played melodies on an old mandolin” — “the waters began to murmur harmoniously”.
The dialogues.
The composition consists in combining and connecting these sounds while respecting their temporal placement in the text.
Voices: DD Dorvillier (the princess), Kim Fransioli (Julien as a child), David Jisse (the father), Isabelle Lagarde (the music teacher), Maxime Leveque (the old stag), Laurent Poitrenaux (Julien as a man), Agnès Pontier (the mother), Ignace Rabotin (Julien as a child), Guillaume Rannou (the leper), Selma Schnabel (the interpreter), Martin Selze (the old man), Gabriel Tur (the beggar)
Foley sounds: Sophie Bissantz
Field recordings: Gilles Mardirossian
Harp: Zeena Parkings
Percussions: Maxime Echardour
Recordings: Camille Lézer
Mastering: Hervé Birolini
The piece was commissioned by Studio Akustische Kunst – WDR, with the support of La Muse en Circuit – Musical Centre, Paris. The piece has been broadcast by Studio Akustische Kunst – WDR, Musique d’avenir – RSR (Radio Suisse Romande), Radio Grenouille (Marseille), L’Atelier de la Création (France Culture), Klangkunst – Deutschlandradio Kultur.