Water Projection
An original idea by Mara DOBRESCO, Nicolas KRUGER and Eric SANGER-MONTEROS
Photos by Eric SANGER-MONTEROS The Ephemerals of Philippe HERSANT
Interpreter Mara DOBRESCO
There have been many attempts to combine images and music. But what about combining a still image with music? That’s a much rarer experience…
Eric Sanger Monteros’s beautiful photographs lend themselves wonderfully to this exercise. The richness of their composition, their rhythm, the open interpretation they allow, the shimmering of their colors, allow the eye to wander through them: the music sets the gaze in motion and animates it.
The photo then begins to vibrate and the music is perceived as a fresco. The image extends the music and the music perpetuates the image… They combine, marry and resonate with each other.
In 2015, the Musique sur Ciel Festival honored composer Philippe Hersant. To mark his residency at Cordes, a cycle of his works was scheduled. The Hersant Cycle opened with the world premiere of the new Haikus for piano four hands by Mara Dobresco and Nicolas Krüger, commissioned by the Musique sur Ciel festival, and excerpts from Ephémères by Mara Dobresco.
The “Water Projection” project began with a mirror image of Philippe Hersant’s work and Eric Sanger-Monteros’ stunning photographs. The choice of photographs in relation to music was made after a long period of research and introspection.
Complete program on request
THE COMPOSER :
PHILIPPE HERSANT
The Ephemeral cycle has become, for me, a sort of travel journal. Along the way, we find allusions to very diverse music.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER :
ERIC SANGER-MONTEROS
“I try to reveal the harmony that can be found in some neutral subjects, seemingly insignificant at first glance: a few blades of grass or a few leaves, a simple branch, reflections. I work on this through the point of view adopted, the choice of the background and its transfiguration through an adequate depth of field. It doesn’t matter if the reading of the image becomes abstract and the reportage value weak, as long as this harmony is revealed to the point of arousing emotions, reverie and meditation. This is my approach: to try to restore these fleeting harmonies of space and for my photos to become windows through which to escape.”
INTERPRETER :
MARA DOBRESCO, piano
“The beauty of Mara Dobresco’s playing immediately captivates with a meticulous approach, an ideally supple touch, and a dreamlike sound… striking a balance between the whimsical passion of Argerich and the depth of Arrau.” Classica
“…one cannot help but appreciate the crystalline sound and the fluidity of her articulations. Always attentive to rigor, balance, and elegance, she delivers a voice suited to nocturnal and mysterious atmospheres.” Diapason
The French-Romanian pianist Mara Dobresco quickly gained public and critical attention for her temperamental playing and the finesse and elegance of her phrasing. Her numerous recordings have earned her rave reviews from the music press, which has readily compared her to Argerich and Arrau.
“Ephemerals” (excerpts) Piano Solo
In this autumn
In this autumn, why must I grow old, a bird in the clouds?
The plover
Dark night, it can no longer find its nest, the crying plover
The firefly
At the end of the grass,
as soon as it falls, the firefly flies away
In the evening air
The bell falls silent, the scent of flowers echoing, in the evening air
White fish
At daybreak, the white glare of inch-long white fish
Autumn wind
To the east, to the west, the same sadness, autumn wind
Hurricane
Moonless night, thousand-year-old firs gripped by the hurricane
Veiled moon
Veiled moon on the chapel awning, raindrops
Bamboos
Laid low by the rain, the bamboos stand up and contemplate the moon
Enchantment
The closed door stretched out, silent enchantment
Warriors
Summer grass, the only trace of the dream of so many warriors
An ant
In broad daylight I saw an ant, this night it haunts me
Bird of silences
Melancholy reinforces my solitude, bird of silence
At the temple of Suma
Temple of Suma in the shade of the trees I hear the flutes of old
The octopus
Trapped the octopus dreams under the summer moon
Cloud
That cloud over there, whose tears does it envelop
Ride
Cold rice fields I travel on horseback, my shadow crawls to the ground
The heron
A flash of lightning tears through the dark night, cry of the heron
The cotton bow
The cotton bow evokes the sound of the lute through the bamboo
Southern valley
Blessed are these places where the wind perfumes the snow, valley of South
The Milky Way
Rough sea! And over there, towards Sado Island, the Milky Way
The duck
The sea darkens, the duck’s cry, so vaguely white
Winter desolation
Winter desolation, in the colorless world, the sound of the wind
The moor
Sick on the way, my dreams still roam the desolate moor