Dafne Vicente-Sandoval & Charles Curtis

Program 

Dafne Vicente-Sandoval and Charles Curtis propose an exceptional program designed for the resonant space of the Jesuit Church, in the heart of Sion's old town.

Both will perform solo works written specifically for them by the influential composer Alvin Lucier, who died in 2021.

Dafne Vicente-Sandoval's feedback interludes are equally rare, punctuating the program, which concludes with a performance of Ultra White Violet Light, a legendary composition and recording by Charles Curtis, whose recorded and reinterpreted parts interweave in a constantly changing way in its live version.

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Alvin Lucier:

Same and Different (2021) for bassoon and pure wave

Alvin Lucier:

Slices (2007-2011 ) for cello and pre-recorded orchestra

Charles Curtis:

Ultra White Violet Light (1997 ) (cello, spoken word, simultaneous playback of a record on two turntables)

(Interludes of live microphone feedback, by Dafne Vicente-Sandoval)

Same and Different: During the performance, an electronically generated pure wave tuned to 442 Hz emerges from a single loudspeaker installed behind and above the spectators' heads. A bassoonist plays a series of 126 long tones consisting of almost unison variations of the pure wave, generated by different fingerings. Small variations in pitch produce audible beats. The greater the distance between pitches, the faster the beat; at unison, there is no beat. The perception of space is also altered, as the beat patterns appear to rotate in space above the listener's head.

In Slices for cello and pre-recorded orchestra, a set of 53 chromatic notes is supported by 53 orchestral instruments, each individually recorded and looped. On this constant canvas, the solo cello interprets melodic orders from the 53-note ensemble; with each tone played, the tonal cluster is successively erased and then reinscribed, in a gradual process controlled by the soloist in real time. The entire sound cluster is traversed a total of seven times by the soloist.

Ultra White Violet Light is a composite performance that superimposes three musical compositions and two spoken texts. These individual elements can be freely combined, with independent starts and durations. Ultra White Violet Light was first released in 1998 as a double LP for simultaneous playback on several stereos. In concert, some of the material will be restored from the original discs in a fluid live mix, while some elements will be played on the cello and read out live, in a play of superposition and time shifting.

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Dafne Vicente-Sandoval

Born in 1979 in Paris

Dafne Vicente-Sandoval is a bassoonist who explores sound through improvisation, the interpretation of contemporary compositions and sound installations. Her instrumental approach revolves around the fragility of sound, and the emergence of sound within a given space. Over the past decade, Dafne Vicente-Sandoval has devoted herself to an experimental, intuitive and deconstructed practice of her instrument, using miniature microphones hidden in her instrument to amplify sound fragments. In the course of her career, she has collaborated with a number of composers (Éliane Radigue, Catherine Lamb, Jakob Ullmann, Peter Ablinger, Klaus Lang, Tashi Wada) whose music demands a high degree of interpretative skill.

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Charles Curtis

Born in 1960

Cellist Charles Curtis has built a unique career between the world of classical performance and that of the most advanced musical experimentation. Long-time principal cellist of Hamburg's NDR Philharmonie and a distinguished interpreter of the chamber music repertoire, Charles Curtis is also known for his involvement in the New York underground scene and for his work with La Monte Young. He is one of the few musicians to have perfected his mastery of Young's complex chords in just intonation, and to have performed in duo with the legendary minimalist composer. In recent years, Charles Curtis has developed a unique repertoire of major works created especially for the virtuosity of his cello playing. French composer Éliane Radigue created for him his very first work for a purely acoustic instrument, the hour-long solo Naldjorlak, which Curtis has since performed all over the world.