Craig Fortnam guida la
North Sea Radio Orchestra alla scoperta del
mondo di Robert Wyatt attraverso
Rock Bottom - in lettura integrale, anche per festeggiarne il quarantesimo compleanno - e altri brani scelti: questa sera a Lione (Francia), per
Les Nuits de Fourvière. Ci sono anche
John Greaves,
Élise Caron,
Silvain Vanot e
Pascal Comelade.
An enthusiastic reinterpretation of Robert Wyatt’s repertoire through his entire masterpiece
Rock Bottom and a selection of his hit songs. "Thank you for bringing a breath of fresh air to my music. To hear it played by other musicians makes me feel like a grandfather. It’s now leading a life of its own – but we, the grandparents, we also see ourselves in it somehow. It's a wonderful feeling": these were the words of Robert Wyatt when he welcomed the idea of creating a show around his work at
Fourvière. Showing great modesty, these words shouldn’t minimize his essential contribution to the history of Pop music. Because in his collaborative projects (Soft Machine, Matching Mole and more) as well as in his solo career, the Englishman is indeed a model: hasn’t he been a source of inspiration for personalities as well-known as Elvis Costello, Bashung, Mark Hollis (Talk Talk), Björk and PJ Harvey? Fed on classical music and bebop songs as much as songs by Ray Charles and Burt Bacharach, Wyatt was swept by a never-ending desire to escape – perhaps this was reinforced by the accident that nailed him to a wheelchair for life in 1973. An eternal wanderer, he strut his imagination and his high-pitched voice, playing with the barriers between Pop, Jazz, Latin sounds and Electronic music. An art of fugue brought to its poetic peak in the album
Rock Bottom (1974), a "song of love and curiosity" intended for his wife and muse Alfie: here, as others put boats into bottles, Robert Wyatt has managed to fit an entire world, his personal world, into his songs. The fortieth anniversary of the release of this unparalleled album is the perfect opportunity to celebrate its maker. Craig Fortnam, leader of the North Sea Radio Orchestra – a sort of ideal society at the crossroads between Chamber music and Pop – is in charge of the musical direction of the evening. Alongside him and his ensemble will be a beautiful gallery of free electrons. Two brilliant entertainers, Élise Caron and John Greaves – one of Wyatt’s longstanding partners – who have always winded their way between song, improvisation and contemporary music; and a singer with a timbre like no other, Silvain Vanot, whose pop edge is perfectly in tune with that of the fabulous bearded artist. Also featuring is a little-known pianist, Pascal Comelade, an early admirer of Wyatt’s, with whom he recorded a delicious version of Kurt Weill’s
September Song. Through a full reinterpretation of
Rock Bottom and a selection of iconic tracks (including
Moon in June,
Shipbuilding and
O Caroline) this is a unique opportunity to rediscover or get acquainted with one of the most unfettered artists in the universe of Pop and his immense little world.
http://www.nuitsdefourviere.com/en/programme/world-robert-wyatt
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