11 December 2015. The number of ITINERANT INTERLUDES (1867) was suggested by artist Sharon Kivland and refers to the date of the first German edition of Karl Marx’s “Capital” – an essential element of “The Natural Forms, Part II”. And, in the program of ITINERANT INTERLUDE #1867, as in Kivland’s show, the feminine also takes center stage in the two musical works being presented by Anna Clementi.
The 14 Récitations were composed by Georges Aperghis in 1982 and represent a veritable tour de force in the contemporary literature for solo voice. According to the composer, the basic idea of Récitations was to work with syllables and phonemes as if they were notes or pitches, i.e., using the building blocks of language to create melodies. In Aperghis’ own words, “A moment I love very much in listening to music is when we don’t have time to think about what is actually happening. The speed of the music, of the acoustic happenings, is higher than what our brain is able process. As if languages, words and syllables would be living their own life on another level than the logical functioning of the brain. So if this music works out as it should, we first feel something and start to think about it only later on, like the way we perceive colors and objects in our childhood or the way we dream.” The text of Récitation 9 chosen for the evening reads: “Parfois je resiste à mon envie vé san tujé parfois je lui cède. Pourquoi donc ce désir.”
the coquetteries (2015) was composed by Laurie Schwartz for Sharon Kivland’s “The Natural Forms, Part II.” and developed in close collaboration with vocalist and performer Anna Clementi. The work, which is an amalgam of musical and physical gesture, draws both inspiration and source material from the fascinating multi-referentiality of Kivland’s art – with musical cells and text fragments tracing back to the tracts of her installation as well as that wonderful French Agit Disco mix-tape, considerations on the nature of duration, the construction of gender, stereotype… and the subversion thereof.
Swedish-Italian vocal artist and performer Anna Clementi spent her life between Stockholm, Berlin and Rome where she studied flute, voice and acting. In 1985 she moved to Berlin where she encountered experimental music theater and Dieter Schnebel and soon began a long collaboration with his ensemble “Die Maulwerker”. Anna Clementi’s repertoire moves between experimental and electronic music, chanson, musical theater and club music, with a special focus on the vocal and theatrical works of John Cage. Countless composers have dedicated works to her which she has premiered at major international venues. She is a member and tours frequently with the renowned vocal ensemble Voxnova Italia.
