États des lieux

Description

In September 2011, invited by sound engineer Philippe Teissier du Cros, Bruno Chevillon spent two days improvising alone on the double bass in the Protestant Lutheran Church of Bon-Secours in Paris — a building as much a protagonist as the performer, whose acoustics shape every bow stroke and every silence. Twelve tracks traverse the extremes: powerful attacks ricocheted like a boomerang through the nave, muted melodic arcs, physical and noisy confrontations with the body of the instrument, and an existential pause of street noises allowed to enter from outside. Tracks 3 and 9 were improvised in a single take over field recordings from Bali (captured by Raphaël Jonin), played through headphones without prior warning. Each piece is offered as a gift — Chevillon insists: not as a dedication — to an artist who has been a lasting presence in his inner life: Barry Guy, Stefano Scodanibbio, James Turrell, Marina Abramovic, Romeo Castellucci, Peter Zumthor, David Lynch, Todd Hido, Richard Serra, Giacinto Scelsi, and others. The music does not depict them: it travels in their direction.