ARAN by Christine Ott & Mathieu Gabry
With ARAN, Christine Ott concludes a trilogy of creations based on Robert Flaherty's cinematographic work, following ‘Nanook of the North’ and ‘TABU’, co-directed with F.W. Murnau. Set on an island off the coast of Ireland constantly battered by storms, the film depicts the daily life of a fishing family in the last century; a true hymn to the courage of these inhabitants, constantly battling the elements. Christine Ott is accompanied on stage by Mathieu Gabry, her partner in Snowdrops, and the duo weaves a score between impressionism, repetitive music and chamber post-rock; an exotic, powerful and moving film concert. This live recording, to be released by Gizeh Records, is the last rehearsal before the premiere, in the silence of the Cheval Blanc hall near Strasbourg, before the audience enters...
Ott spent four years composing for the film. Initially conceived as a solo piano piece, the composer then incorporated her self-taught harp playing, then the theremin, a distant cousin of her beloved ondes Martenot. She invited Gabry to play keyboards and drone box to sculpt this ambitious, physical and immersive musical flow together. This hour and a quarter of original creation responds to the power of Flaherty's images and highly musical editing, sometimes experimental for its time. Naturally, classical piano pieces punctuate the album; the main theme Aran Theme, as well as its variations and reprises, are imbued with romanticism and evoke Chopin or Debussy. The constant contrast between the serenity of these humans and the force of nature is reflected in the ‘Sturm und Drang’ spirit of the pieces Stone Island, Western Lights and Land of Freedom. The latter piece encapsulates this perfectly, with the duality of Christine's ultra-expressive piano and Mathieu's deeply rooted bass lines; a finale that is as minimal as it is orchestral, melancholic but full of hope.
Less classical passages punctuate the album. In The Fishing Line, the mix of harp tones and analogue percussion playfully accompanies the young fisherman atop the cliffs, where his precise movements with the fishing line are translated into repetitive loops and glissandos. This is followed by The Shark and the Rope, which becomes more minimalist in its second half and could be reminiscent of Rachel's or Meredith Monk's piano pieces. In Beneath the Surface, the theremin responds to the organ in a hallucinatory shark hunting scene, while Le Départ sounds like a pause in this continuum, with Gabry playing a solo melody reminiscent of The Cinematic Orchestra. He then unfurls a small symphony of breaths and white noise in Last Breath, before Shadows in the Waves takes over; a piece that references Inner Fires from their duo Snowdrops (2021) and Circles, a bravura piece composed for the film Manta Ray (Aroonpheng, 2018). Ultimately, Ott & Gabry present ARAN as a global work, a true manifesto for natural humanity, both through the subject matter of the film and through their performances; a creation that resonates in a very special way today.
Tracklist
| 1. | Opening Credits - Aran Theme | 5:04 |
| 2. | L'apparition - Le débarquement | 3:27 |
| 3. | Aran Variation | 2:33 |
| 4. | Three and the Elements | 3:34 |
| 5. | The Crossing | 4:09 |
| 6. | Stone Island | 7:04 |
| 7. | The fishing line | 7:49 |
| 8. | The shark and the rope | 5:20 |
| 9. | Beneath the Surface | 4:57 |
| 10. | Western Lights | 4:30 |
| 11. | Collecting Oil | 4:42 |
| 12. | Le départ | 3:13 |
| 13. | Le Chaudron - Aran Reprise | 2:51 |
| 14. | Last Breath | 3:32 |
| 15. | Shadows in the Waves | 7:03 |
| 16. | Land of Freedom | 3:48 |
Credits
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ALSO AVAILABLE HERE :
ORDER CD / DL (from United Kingdom - Gizeh Records) :
— christineott.bandcamp.com/album/aran
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Composed by Christine Ott & Mathieu Gabry between February 2020 and March 2024
Christine Ott: Piano, Harp, Theremin
Mathieu Gabry: Keyboards, BAB 'Boîte à bourdons'
Recorded live on 22 March 2024 by Benoit Burger at ‘Cheval Blanc’ venue, Schiltigheim / Mixed by Mathieu Gabry at Serpentine Studio / Produced by Mimiladoré
Design and packaging by Richard Knox and Dark Peak Press
PRESSING NOTES
CD Edition of 200. Custom CD sleeves, designed, printed and hand-assembled by Dark Peak Press. Gatefold sleeve, cut from 300gsm heavyweight, recycled black card stock. Hand screen-printed throughout with additional. Includes credit insert and download code.
++++++++++
Thanks to Sara Sgahier for making this performance possible and to all Schiltigheim Culture crew. Thanks to the Timeless Film Festival, especially to Roman Gutek and Maja Banasiak for welcoming this creation so well in Poland, and to all people involved at POLIN Museum in Warsaw, Manggha Museum in Krakow and New Horizons Cinema in Wroclaw. Thanks also to Stephane Litolff and Aurélie Smith at the Diapason Vendenheim, and a special thanks to Denis Woelffel at the Espace Rohan of Saverne. Thanks also to the Drac Grand Est, the City of Strasbourg and Spedidam organisation for their support. Very special thanks to Benoit Burger, Jean-Pierre Rosenkranz, Noé Maetz, Léo Maurel, Claire Barberot, Benjamin Schwarz and Françoise Haar for their precious contributions, which helped us in making this creation.
++++++++++
SELECTED PRESS
« Ott and Gabry have crafted a world that speaks of resilience and fragility, of humans who live in tune with something greater than themselves. Rather than ending a trilogy, ARAN feels like a renewal, a statement of faith in nature, sound, and stillness. It’s music that listens as much as it speaks, and in that listening, something profoundly human emerges » Nenad Georgievski, Vintage Café
« ARAN is not just a soundtrack, but an immersive experience that transports the listener to a distant and archaic world, where the sea, the wind and stone become the protagonists. It is a work that speaks of roots, struggle and freedom, and does so with rare delicacy and power. » Maurizio Donini, Tuttorock
« Ici, le minimalisme devient maximalisme émotionnel. La sobriété des moyens instrumentaux décuple le sentiment, les sentiments. Tant d'émotions à travers ces seize titres dont je perçois leurs mélodies comme des souvenirs qui affleurent, des fragments sur la solitude, des rêves de résilience et l'amour du moment. (...) Une œuvre de musique de chambre mutante, un havre pour l'âme, discret, bouleversant, qui laisse le cœur apaisé et vibrant longtemps après le dernier souffle » Break Musical
« Without even having seen the film, the sense of tumultuous emotion in the music is breathtaking, as it ebbs and flows like the surrounding wild sea. Strap yourself in and play it loud. » Blair Millen, The Letter
