Herman Kolgen blog

I am now in Slovenia for a couple of performances. Didn,t have time to update this blog about the premiere of Train Fragments in Paris last week. It was a real challenge to present this new project with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, yep _ the Boulez Ensemble. With only 3 repetitions, I think we present a real intense performance. The Ensemble improvise with my graphic score over a basic soundtrack that I already create in Montreal. We presented this night 2 representations. Thank’s to all the musicians, who played with brio… and Gilles Alvarez who convinced me to create this piece.

I was able in the past weeks to start working on my computer. That was great because I have to create a new piece before leaving for Brazilia. This new piece is inspired by Different Trains, the one I presented with the Symphonic Orchestra in rennes and in Quebec. Now It will be in Paris in october with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the orchestra of Pierre Boulez. They ask me to create a piece with an audio track that they will be able to improvise over the track. It’s very bold for them. They will use the big screen with my video image behind them like a graphical score. I’m really intrigued to see and hear what they will do. It will be presented during NÉMO — SPÉCIAL QUÉBEC NUMÉRIQUE _ DU 6 AU 9 OCTOBRE 2011 À LA GAÃŽTÉ LYRIQUE ET AU CENTQUATRE.

There is some picts from the general of Different Trains _ Rennes_France at Electron[k] festival. I don’t have pictures from the official premiere tonight, I was too concentrate on my video performance. But it’s give a real good idea of the different trains projection with the string quartet esthetica. I have to say that I was very happy with all the technical projection, a cinematographic quality. Thank’s to Anne and Cyril for there little attention to me.

Some screen shots of the evolutive different trains / steve reich project.

This month, I started to work on a ‘hommage’ to Steve Reich that will be presented in Rennes, France _ next october. The Bretagne Orchestra directed by Jean-Mickaël Lavoie will play this amazing piece in a front of my video. It’s a great honnor that Cultures Electroni[k] invite me to create visual for Different Trains. Steve Reich is for me a very significative influence _ not only because I’m basically a drummer, but because he has experience with repetitive rhythmic cycles and phases. What I particularly like in different trains, is that these are the voices pre-recorded on tapes which dictate the beat and the harmony to the musicians. My idea is to create 3 ‘tableaux kinétique’ that will establish an atmosphere suited to the three separate movements of this piece. I opted to does not, or hardly ever show the train. Rather, we will look through the windows _ the frosted window, the anamorphic window, the poetic vision. From the eyes of passengers to the outside world. For the few parts that we will see a train, I worked with a miniature train shooted in macro optic.