Liberté-Anne Lymberiou :: D’après une sculpture de Camille Claudel

Co-presented with Live in Concrete

Innovations en concert stands with artists and cultural organizations in the struggle against the pandemic, partnering with Live In Concrete, whose mission is to raise the bar for the quality of musical performances offered online. By combining musical works and their performances with a visual experience that is as engaging as it is subtle, they help amplify the audience’s experience and convey the message of the work of art in an innovative way.

The inspiration for the composition D’après une sculpture de Camille Claudel was a close-up of Camille Claudel’s L’Âge Mûr: two arms enlaced with muscle and tendon. The image was so evocative for composer Liberté-Anne Lymberiou that she sketched a melody for two saxophones. What do two arms sound like? What does the tug, the push and pull, the friction and softness of touch sound like?

Following her compositional practice, inspired by African and Afro-descendant percussion ensemble techniques, Liberté-Anne is adamant in having the players listen to each rather than watch for cues. Throughout the entirety of rehearsal and performance, the saxophonists René Zeledon and Geneviève Gauthier stood back to back, in an effort to enhance the spontaneity and rawness of the work, and to discover new methods of musical interaction.

The video was conceptualized by Live In Concrete’s videographer Jaden Scholes. In keeping with distancing requirements, digital zoom techniques invoke the “coming together” emotion of the piece and evoke a subtle yet poignant intimacy throughout. This intimate feeling is amplified by the mix by Live In Concrete’s sound engineer Zach Scholes, giving the illusion of being in the live room and at close proximity to the sound.