PRODUCTIONS AND COLLABORATIONS ON THE BARREL ORGANNEW APPROACHES AND MAGICAL DIMENSIONS

2017

Table of contents

The project p 4

An international dimension p 4

The message p 5

The messenger p 5

In short p 7

Saudaá Group ? p 7

2016 Country by country p 8

Guest musicians p 9

Sound postcards p 10

Videos and photos p 11

Texts p 12

What prospects? p 13

Contact info p 14

Press and media p 16

Foreword

The barrel organ, mechanical organ or automatic organ?

The barrel organ (originally known as the automatic punched-card driven organ) is a mobile wind instrument that uses perforated rolls to produce sound. The instrument is, in this respect, the first system of ‘’recorded’’ music reproduction and the very first computer in the world.

While combining the technical aspects of liturgical organ music, watchma-king and mechanics, the barrel organ first appeared in the 18th century and was played in the streets by peddlers, beggars or foreigners. Not only does it embody togetherness-turned popular culture, but also music for the masses. This ancient instrument is deeply rooted in our lives: the ancestor of computer-assisted music (along with the language MIDI) and a catalyst for social connections.

With the introduction of the language MIDI (computer encoding of music), interfaces were developed to replace the punched cards with computer fi-les. The latter system results in direct action on the organ from any electronic controler and in writing music without having to resort to the long and costly process of perforating cards.

The organ was custom-made by Sébastien Schuetz, from Fachsatter Histo-rischer Musikautomaten and Ecole des Facteurs d’Orgues de Ludwigsburg, assisted by Frédéric Godin. It consists of 42 wooden pipes and a hybrid pneumatic system allowing the use of perforated cards (29 notes) or the lan-guage MIDI (42 notes).

An international dimension

In 2016 Saudaá Group established residencies around the world for the Street Organ Ritornellos project. He worked with over 30 musicians in a dozen different countries, from the High Atlas to the countries of the Cau-casus, seeking to renew the three-century-old instrument and communicate its legacy to a wider audience. Each step in the journey provided various tes-timonies, radio works for France Musique or short films. Two documentaries were shot in Armenia and Lebanon. In this project Saudaá Group looked into the poetic inter-relationship between music and its environment, and looks forward to pursuing these reflections.

The Mansion, Beirut, Lebanon, November 2016

French Institute in Casablanca, February 20164

The project

The barrel organ reworked : from world music to sound art

Implemented since 2014 by French musician Alexis Paul, Saudaá Group is a project on creating musical compositions with a street organ. The project blends sound art, improvisations, poetic and societal approach to music, traditions and new forms of authorship. The very essence of this project is the thorough reworking of the street organ: repertoire, technique, use. It provides powerful, repetitive sound textures, and features electroacoustic source, guest musicians, experimentation on use and ‘’nomadity.’’

The message

‘’Art is what makes life more interesting than art,’’ Robert Filliou

A tool

The message conveyed through the project posits the principle of music as a ‘’tool’’ and not as a destination. Music becomes this tool that celebra-tes consciousness, interactions, openness and transcendence. Poetry is also addressed. Thus, music provides content, thoughts and becomes a pretext for life. On this cross-disciplinary and complete art journey, our lives have meaning and design almost miraculous connections between the elements. Last, the project blends art, travel and solitude, and exerts the inevitable mark of melancholy as a ‘’daily event’’ and as an invisible expression of love.

The messenger

Répétition collective à Buenos Aires, avril 20165

To bring the idea of intermediary music raising contexts while never being key, it was necessary to summon a symbolic instrument. The barrel organ - the instrument of the nomads and non-musicians - has taken over the years a priceless social role in transmitting class music to the people with no requisite expertise. Using the organ in a modern and different context has enabled to shift the obsession from technique to intent and expression facilitating a not strictly musical discourse. The musician’s ego falls below the drive only. In an effort not to submit to conventional excellence where poetic approach prevails over applauded performance. Saudaá Group actually played on pe-rennial ambiguity using the instrument of ultimate illusion while developing a serious discourse and potential creative aesthetics.

Qeti Shapatava & Aleqsandr Papunashvili in Dada costumes, inAkhalkalaki, Georgia, at a Saudaá Group performance, during the Fest I Nova festival, Art Villa Garikula, september 2016

In short

Reworking the automatic organ?

> Music

Repertoire : escape the hold of the tradition of the mobile orchestra, move on to minimalist and more contemporary techniques – layers of sound, drones, obstinate chords and bass, within the limits of free popular music.

Technique : replace the perforated rolls with a control computer, humanize computer coding, open up creative opportunities.

> Symbols

Mobility : nature of the instrument, new approach that is broader and interna-tional, beyond Europe’s borders (home to the automatic organ)

Role : reinterpret the historical social role of the messenger instrument, favor music as a discursive force of meaning

Saudaá Group ?

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Saudade de tous mes lendemains, extrait publié le 22 décembre 2016.

« Avec le temps, j’ai appris de la solitude et de la mélancolie une forme d’amour invisible. Un amour si puissant qu’il nous échappe. Et puis j’ai ramené de mes premiers voyages au Portugal la saudade et j’ai donné à un cadre à mon sentiment grandissant. En reprenant les termes du poète tunisien Jalel El Gharbi, le mot viendrait de la combinaison de deux termes latins : solitudinem (solitude) et salutatem (le salut) mais une origine arabe ne serait pas exclue. En effet, ce mot pourrait venir de ءاديوس (saudaá) qui désigne originellement la bile noire, cause de la mélancolie dans la « Théorie de humeurs », puis la partie la plus intime de l’affect, le cœur du cœur. Le penchant arabe de la saudade serait alors le َوجَش qui résulterait d’une douce nostalgie pour un ailleurs ou un autrefois dont on ne sait rien. Contrairement à la nostalgie, le َوجَش ne sait ni ce qu’il regrette ni ce qu’il désire. Il serait comme un désir à l’état pur, intran-sitif que seul l’art aurait le pouvoir de susciter. Il fait partie de cette catégorie de mots arabes qui signifient la chose et son contraire. Tristesse mais aussi exaltation. Le َوجَش serait ce désir se nourrissant de manque, de vide, donnant vue sur les sites du silence. Avec cette découverte, j’avais alors compris que ma survie existait à cet endroit précis. J’avais pu mettre un mot sur ce que je ressentais depuis toujours. Ce ravissement inexistant dans le « réel », qui m’est indispensable autant qu’il nous fait peur, prenait corps à l’instant où je choisissais de vivre avec, de l’incarner. Dans une certaine mesure, j’apprenais de l’absence à détruire tout sentiment de perte. Voilà pourquoi les déserts m’intéressent à ce point. Cela n’a rien à voir avec un vide à l’intérieur. Pierre Barouh d’ailleurs, a définit la saudade comme «un manque habité». Cette dou-ble ambiguïté faite d’une mélancolie choisie et d’un solitude collective, je l’ai nommée Saudaá Group ».

2016 Country by Country

MOROCCO – February 2016

Residency : The Ultra Laboratory, CasablancaMusicians : Mourad Belouadi (gembri), Othmane Elkheloufi (raita) and Hicham Alaoui (drums)Theme : the traditional Berber cult of caves in Morocco, after a book by Henri Basset

URUGUAY – March 2016

Residency : Pera de Goma, Espacio Uuu, MontevideoMusicians : Diego Abdul Galceran (tape recorder), José Romero Ottonello (cello)Theme : the Charrua identity and lost instrument, in relation to Montevideo’s music archives

ARGENTINA – April 2016

Residency : La Paternal Espacio Proyecto, Buenos AiresMusicians : Eugenia Brusa (vocals), Nicolas Avila (bandoneon), Federico Fos-sati (flutes) and Jazmin Esquivel (vocals)Theme : the Mapuche identity and recording as a form of resisting disappea-rance, after the book by Bioy Casarés ‘’Morel’s Invention’’

JAPAN – May 2016

Residency : Highti, TokyoMusicians : Reiko Imanishi (koto), Fujita Yosuke (organs) and Ami Yamasaki (vocals)Theme : tale of a Japanese shipwreck ‘’La balade de Matsuyama’’

MONGOLIA – June 2016

Residency : French Alliance in Oulan BatorMusicians : Davaajargal Tsaschikher (guitar) and Munkhjargal Lkhagvaa (morin khuur)Theme : Morin Khuur, violin of immortality

PORTUGAL – July 2016

Invitation to play the contemporary arts festival Jardin Efemeros

ICELAND – August 2016

Residency: Listhus Artspace, OlafsfjorourMusicians: Eyjolfur Eyjolfsson and Ingibjorg Yr Skarphéoinsdottir (langspil)Theme: the langspil, community instrument, and darkness

GEORGIA – September 2016

Residency: Art Vill Garikula, AkhalkalakiMusicians: Tamta Mandzulashvili (panduri, salamuri), Damiane Gordeladze (chuniri), Nino Abelishvili (vocals)Theme: villages of caves and geological formations

ARMENIA – October 2016

Residency: Institute of Contemporary Art & Art and Cultural Studies Labora-tory, ErevanMusicians: Vardan Harutyunyan (laptop), Miqayel Voskanyan (tar)Theme: the symbolism of water in Armenia

LEBANON – November 2016

Residency: The Mansion, BeirutMusicians: Youmna Saba (oud) and Fadi Tabbal (guitar)Theme: two museums against oblivion, action to safeguard Palestinian culture in the camps of Chatila and Burj Ek Shemali

GREECE – December 2016

Residency: Y Residency, AthensMusicians: Anna Papoutsi (flute) and Panagiotis Kanellopoulos (mandolin)Theme: the telluric Sarakiniko beach

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Guest musicians

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Sound postcards

As part of the international residencies and at the request of Vincent Thé-val, producer for Radio France, over 10 radio works were broadcast. The creation of each sound postcard followed a process of research, encounters, outdoor recordings, editing for radio-broadcasting. The postcards are availa-ble for stream-listening on streetorganritornellos.com under the ‘’music’’ tab.

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Videos & photos

Videos

The webseries ‘’Magic Saudaá’’ features a video episode for each country. Each video was filmed and edited in situ by a local artist. Were involved in implementing the episodes: Sarah Lamrini, M’hammed kilito, Pablo Sosa, Or-lando Quintanilla, Joaquin Mora, Ami Yamasaki, Gegeesuren Dulguunbaatar, Florent Clavel, Leena Pukki, Suzanne Moreau, Martin Trabalik, Eleonora Haru-tyunyan, Lisa Surault and Chrysoula Damoula. All videos were shared by the site La Blogothèque and can be watched on streetorganritornellos.com under the ‘’video channel’’ tab.

Photographs

In that same spirit, local photographers joined the project by documenting chosen moments throughout the journey. Were involved in the photographic workflow: M’hammed Kilito, Sarah Lamrini, Pablo Sosa, Orlando Quintanilla, Augustina Garcia, Yoshitaka Shirakura, Ayumi Yoshida, Gegeesuren Dulguu-nbaatar, Florent Clavel, Lisa Surault, Guillaume De La Forest Divonne and Chrysoula Damoula.

Finally, Saudaá Group worked on analogue cameras, Minolta XD and Nikon F, to take over 500 photos, select and share them. All photos consist of tex-tures, details or landscapes and can be viewed on streetorganritornellos.com under the ‘’photo route’’ tab.

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Texts

The blog served as a platform to produce literary content in relation to the project. It did not ‘’describe the journey’’ strictly speaking. The energies encountered provided the framework for thoughts on various themes such as disobedience, oblivion, love or solitude. In this respect, the articles can be totally decontextualized and be read on their own.

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Saudade de tous mes lendemains, extrait publié le 22 décembre 2016.

« Parmi tous les mots que je voulais vous dire, j’ai dû choisir celui qui renfer-mait tous les sons, toutes les images. Je lève un dernier verre à ces jours et nuits constellés qui m’ont appris peut-être à devenir moins « musicien ». Face aux années qui viennent, à celles qui ce succèdent, j’aurais compris qu’on ne peut fléchir face à l’immensité et l’horizon des possibilités. De cette belle aventure qui débute et me voit revenir inchangé, j’aurais retenu tout en avant ceci : qu’importe la difficulté d’un évènement, seule compte son absolue né-cessité. (….) Dans toute cette aventure, personne ne m’a ouvert la porte, je l’ai forcée. Il y a des choses que seule une expérience violente, transcendan-tale, vous permet de comprendre. Le chef d’orchestre roumain Sergiu Celi-bidache, dans une interview accordée à une journaliste française, évoquait la pauvreté du critique qui, attaché à ce qu’on lui enseigne, ne s’en tient qu’au concept et oublie le vécu personnel et saisissant de l’acte créatif. Celui qui prend du temps à être démontré et qui rend quelques années plus tard, plus ringard encore le critique qui usait de ce terme pour exister. Il s’empresse de rajouter que « tout art n’a qu’un seul but : la liberté ». Y compris la liberté au sein de sa communauté. Alors, je crois que pour atteindre l’ornement sublime, au loin, tout au fond dans la nuit, nous devons poursuivre une raison person-nelle réfugiée juste-là, dans notre cœur, dont l’objectif est toujours solitaire mais pas individuel »

What prospects ?

Audiovisual prospects

Two documentaries are at the editing stage: a 25-minute format filmed by Lisa Surault in Lebanon for the series Interstices and an experimental docu-mentary entitled The Nomad and His Box of Sounds directed by Eleonora Harutyunyan in Armenia.

Literary prospects

A series of 4 short pieces is in progress. It refers to little volumes of thou-ghts - inspired by events that occurred during the travels – called ‘’mira-culous connections’’ or « poetic materials » and briefly shared on the blog. It strives to explore these ideas and show how they can emerge from their context in a light of their own. This literature will address the Chatila camp, the cult of caves in Morocco, the obsession of water among the Armenian people, and the reinterprétation of Bioy Casarés’s ‘’Morel’s Invention.’’

Music prospects

Saudaá Group will be in residency on may 2017 at the Refuge du Lapin Bleu in Mayenne and, on June of the same year, Saudaá group will be in residency at the Centre Barbara in Paris (Goutte d’Or neighborhood) for writing and scenic work.

International prospects

Discussions are being held on Saudaá Group’s participation in a sound crea-tion to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of WWF at the Pagan Temple of Garni in Armenia. The fall 2017 event focuses on the reintroduction of the Persian leopard in Armenia.

At the same time the project will be featured at the Yerevan Duduk Festi-val, a festival dedicated to Armenian music and the traditional instrument of the duduk in particular.

Finally, a collective residency in France is being considered. The project seeks to bring together some of the foreign musicians involved in the 2016 project. The collective would tour afterwards. Coproducers and partners are currently being contacted.

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Contact info

www.streetorganritornellos.comsoundcloud.com/saudaagroupfacebook.com/streetorganritornellos

Project

ALEXIS PAUL alexspaul@gmail.com

Alexis Paul, born in Sables d’Olonnes in 1987, is a French musician, popular composer and cultural actor embracing a diversity of contexts. He co-foun-ded the Château Ephémère, the Humanist sk festival, the label Armures Provi-soires, the radio show L’Heure Blanche, the music projects Belle Arché Lou and Saudaá Group. In 2016, he, alone with his mechanical organ, got involved in a creative project around the world. While exploring ten countries he looked into the existing relationship between music and its environment. He focused his work on music as a ‘’tool’’ celebrating consciousness, on solitude and me-lancholy as powerful forces of interaction and mediation. He is interested in writing and ethnopoetics and is currently setting the stage for future cross-disciplinary actions in these areas.

Cultural action

SARAH DUBOISsarah@cestcontent.org

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Press & Media

Magic, national printed magazine

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Radio show ‘’Continent Musique’’ by Matthieu ConquetFrance Culture, January 14, 2017

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Radio show ‘’Label Pop’’ by Vincent ThévalFrance Musique, January 03, 2016

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Article in Gessien, a local newspaper in the Geneva region, January 2016

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Sens Critique, online article published in 2015

Fluid Radio, La Blogothèque and Hartzine, online articles published in 2015

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