Louise Moati, stage director, and Jordi Savall, conductor, on the making of a Baroque classic.
Louise Moati, stage director, and Jordi Savall, conductor, on the making of Alcione.
Louise Moaty, stage director
Alcione is really a piece that relies on enchantment. I thought straight away of bringing circus performers on board to embody this wonderment, which is specific to Baroque pieces.
The idea was also to develop the circus language into the scenery, and that the scenery works using the circus apparatus; that is, that we try to interweave as much as possible.
Jordi Savall, conductor
My method consisted first in having them recite the texts they were about to sing in order for them to take notice of the versatility of inflections.
This enabled, once you added the sound, to obtain an articulation, a far more incisive declamation:
“God! God! What a storm!”
And this, orchestra musicians must stress too. We take advantage of these elements to create a language that is very expressive, and also modern.
Louise Moaty
I chose a truly and frankly modern line, one that tries to convey and share everything that I find interesting in the Baroque world.
It is precisely this diversity, this irregularity, and this abundance that are peculiar to the Baroque, particularly from a perspective that remains modern.
Jordi Savall
I don’t know if an audience from Marais’ time would have understood our staging today. But the emotion transmitted through song, through a well interpreted and lively instrumental piece, is something that doesn’t change and will always be key in producing enchanting music.
