| Recorded live at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Neuer Sall, November 16, 2001
All you need is air. A songbird that stops singing must die. Georges Aperghis demands a similar degree of self-sacrifice of the performer of his 14 Récitations: simultaneous recital of two texts, abstention from inhaling – you name it, he wants it. And Donatienne Michel-Dansac does it … And on top of it all this sadistic composer wants his singer to enjoy gasping for air. But the Récitations are not just physically demanding; they also require immense musical intelligence of the singer: “Rather than creating melodies simply by combining higher and lower notes I use syllables and phonemes, the components of our language.” (Aperghis) In these pieces Aperghis has assembled countless numbers of these components, and he wants them to sound – as simple as possible, why of course! And in spite of all these nearly unfulfillable demands (or because of them?) Donatienne Michel-Dansac does enjoy herself.
“It’s an adventure, and a challenge, to perform the 14 Récitations – for the audience, too.” |