La Traversée de Paris (album)
Encyclopedia
La Traversée de Paris is an album by the Michael Nyman Band
featuring music composed by Michael Nyman
for an audio-visual exhibition of the same name which took place at the Grande Arche de la Défense
from July to December 1989 to celebrate the bicentennial
of the French Revolution
.
charting the city's rich and often violent history from 1789 to 1989.
's film Prospero's Books
.
Four of these pieces did not undergo any changes, and were simply retitled for their use in the film and for the score's album release:
The other three pieces were revised to varying degrees:
Michael Nyman Band
The Michael Nyman Band, formerly known as the Campiello Band, is a group formed as a street band for a 1976 production of Carlo Goldoni's 1756 play, Il Campiello directed by Bill Bryden at the Old Vic...
featuring music composed by Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
for an audio-visual exhibition of the same name which took place at the Grande Arche de la Défense
Grande Arche
La Grande Arche de la Défense is a monument and building in the business district of La Défense and in the commune of Puteaux, to the west of Paris, France...
from July to December 1989 to celebrate the bicentennial
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Track listing
The album consists of 17 pieces, each referring to a specific or generic location, historical incident, or cultural development in Paris since the time of the Revolution. There is a geographical emphasis to the first six pieces which describe the city itself without historical context. The subsequent pieces proceed in chronological order by namesake, as a musical timelineChronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
charting the city's rich and often violent history from 1789 to 1989.
- L'entrée.
- La nef de Paris ("The NaveNaveIn Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
of Paris"). - Débarcadère ("Docks").
- Le Labyrinthe.
- Le Palais Royal.
- Le jardin ("Garden").
- Le théatre d'ombres chinoises ("Shadow TheatreShadow TheatreThe Shadow Theatre is an Edmonton-based theatre company born of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in 1990.-History:Shadow Theatre was incorporated in 1992, operating under the governance of a volunteer Board of Directors...
"). - L'émeute de la faim ("Hunger Riots").
- Du faubourg à l'Assemblée ("From the suburbs to the AssemblyNational Assembly (French Revolution)During the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...
"). - "Ah ça ira" ("It will succeed!"). Refers to a bloodthirsty execution-chant from the Revolution. With the London VoicesLondon VoicesLondon Voices is a London-based choral ensemble led by Terry Edwards, who founded the ensemble in 1973...
. - Passage de l'Égalité ("The EgalitarianEgalitarianismEgalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
Movement"). - Les murs des fédérés ("The Communards' WallCommunards' WallThe Communards’ Wall at the Père Lachaise cemetery is where, on May 28, 1871, one-hundred forty-seven fédérés, combatants of the Paris Commune, were shot and thrown in an open trench at the foot of the wall....
"). A setting of Rimbaud's poem L'orgie parisienne. With Sarah Leonard. - De l'Hôtel de Ville à la Concorde ("From City HallHôtel de Ville, ParisThe Hôtel de Ville |City Hall]]) in :Paris, France, is the building housing the City of Paris's administration. Standing on the place de l'Hôtel de Ville in the city's IVe arrondissement, it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357...
to the ConcordePlace de la ConcordeThe Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :...
"). - Cinéma d'actualités ("NewsreelNewsreelA newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
"). - Champs Elysées.
- Les manifestations ("ProtestProtestA protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
s"). - L'Arche de la Défense. Refers to the contemporary setting of the exhibition.
Musicians
- The Michael Nyman BandMichael Nyman BandThe Michael Nyman Band, formerly known as the Campiello Band, is a group formed as a street band for a 1976 production of Carlo Goldoni's 1756 play, Il Campiello directed by Bill Bryden at the Old Vic...
- Alexander BalanescuAlexander BalanescuAlexander Bălănescu is a violinist and founder of the Balanescu Quartet.He emigrated with his family to Israel in 1969....
- Elisabeth Perry
- Clare Connors
- Jonathan CarneyJonathan CarneyJonathan Carney is a violinist, violist, and conductor noted for his interpretations of Luciano Berio, Michael Nyman, Max Bruch, Johannes Brahms, Jean Sibelius, Felix Mendelssohn, John Cage, Bruno Maderna, Pablo Sarasate, Fritz Kreisler, Krzysztof Penderecki, Paul Hindemith, Philip Glass, Toru...
- Tony HinniganTony HinniganAnthony "Tony" Hinnigan is a musician from Glasgow. He is best known for his work with Michael Nyman , Ennio Morricone, and James Horner. He plays cello as well as Irish whistle and various Andean woodwind instruments...
- Justin Pearson
- Paul Morgan
- Robin McGee
- David Rix
- David Fuest
- John HarleJohn HarleJohn Harle is an English saxophonist and composer.-Biography:John Harle - SaxophonistJohn Harle is one of the world’s leading saxophonists, and the most significant performer of the saxophone in the concert hall today...
- Jamie TalbotJamie TalbotJames Robert "Jamie" Talbot is an English jazz alto saxophonist.Talbot played with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra and then with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra while young.He attended the Royal College of Music in 1978-79, then recorded throughout the decades of the 1980s and 1990s with...
- Simon Haram
- Andrew FindonAndrew FindonAndrew Findon is an English flautist and saxophonist. Educated at Harrow County School for Boys, he trained as an orchestral flautist, and served as principal flute of the National Youth Orchestra in the early 1970s and three years at the Royal College of Music...
- Graham Ashton
- Richard Clews
- Huw Jenkins
- Steve Saunders
- Alexander Balanescu
- Sarah Leonard
- London VoicesLondon VoicesLondon Voices is a London-based choral ensemble led by Terry Edwards, who founded the ensemble in 1973...
directed by Terry EdwardsTerry EdwardsTerry Edwards is an English musician.Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding member of The Higsons. He produced and played on the debut album by Yeah Jazz "Six Lane Ends"...
Prospero's Books
Seven pieces from La Traversée de Paris were repurposed or revised by Nyman to form the bulk of his score for Peter GreenawayPeter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
's film Prospero's Books
Prospero's Books
Prospero's Books , written and directed by Peter Greenaway, is a cinematic adaptation of The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. John Gielgud is Prospero, the protagonist who provides the off-screen narration and the voices to the other story characters...
.
Four of these pieces did not undergo any changes, and were simply retitled for their use in the film and for the score's album release:
- Débarcadère (retitled "Reconciliation").
- Du faubourg à l'Assemblée (retitled "Prospero's Curse").
- Passage de l'Égalité (retitled "Cornfield").
- Cinéma d'actualités (retitled "History of Sycorax").
The other three pieces were revised to varying degrees:
- L'entrée, in an extended form, became "Prospero's Magic".
- Le Labyrinthe, with the addition of a vocal line, became "Come Unto These Yellow Sands".
- Le théatre d'ombres chinoises, in a much shorter form, became "Miranda".
Other Performances and Recordings
- An Eye For a Difference, London SaxophonicLondon SaxophonicLondon Saxophonic is a saxophone ensemble begun by Gareth Brady, Will Gregory and Simon Haram, while they were studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. They made their debut in 1994 on Atlantic Records with Sax Pax for a Sax, a collaboration with Moondog, who composed all of the works...
's album of Nyman pieces arranged for saxophone ensemble, contains arrangements of both Le Palais Royal and De l'Hôtel de Ville à la Concorde. - Nyman's opera-balletOpéra-balletOpéra-ballet was a popular genre of French Baroque opera, "that grew out of the ballets à entrées of the early seventeeth century". It differed from the more elevated tragédie en musique as practised by Jean-Baptiste Lully in several ways...
Noises, Sounds & Sweet AirsNoises, Sounds & Sweet AirsNoises, Sounds & Sweet Airs is a 1991 opera by Michael Nyman that began as an opera-ballet titled La Princesse de Milan choreographed by Karine Saporta. The libretto is William Shakespeare's The Tempest, as abridged by the composer...
(adapted from William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
) utilizes a number of melodies from La Traversée de Paris, including De l'Hôtel de Ville à la Concorde in "There's nothing ill can dwell" and Le théatre d'ombres chinoises in "Ye Elves". - The Michael Nyman SongbookThe Michael Nyman SongbookThe Michael Nyman Songbook is a collection of art songs by Michael Nyman based on texts by Paul Celan, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, William Shakespeare and Arthur Rimbaud. It was recorded as an album with Ute Lemper in 1991, and again as a concert film in 1992, under the direction of Volker...
, a concert filmConcert filmA concert movie, or concert film, is a type of documentary film, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by a musician ....
and albumAlbumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
featuring Ute LemperUte LemperUte Lemper is a German chanteuse and actress renowned for her interpretation of the work of Kurt Weill.- Biography :Born in Münster, Germany, Ute Lemper was raised in a Roman Catholic family. She joined the punk music group known as the Panama Drive Band at the age of 16...
singing with the Michael Nyman Band, contains a different performance of Les murs des fédérés (L'orgie parisienne). - The Very Best of Michael Nyman: Film Music 1980-2001The Very Best of Michael Nyman: Film Music 1980-2001The Very Best of Michael Nyman: Film Music 1980-2001 is a compilation album of film music by Michael Nyman, including three previously unreleased tracks and one from the limited release, La Traversée de Paris...
, a double-disc compilation album, contains Le théatre d'ombres chinoises under the title "Miranda Previsited".