Migration

Vincent Peirani accordion
François Salque cello
Johnny Rasse & Jean Boucault bird singers
 
Just as songbirds are inspired by the song of other birds, encountered during their migration, composers have always been inspired by the music discovered during their travels. From Sibelius to Piazzolla, through Messiaen and Takemitsu, this unusual quartet invites us to take part in an amazing musical journey, and invents a melody of exile.
 
A simple chord (C-E-G) repeated by Peirani, a fine melody by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, sketched by François Salque, then Cantus Arcticus (subtitled Concerto for Birds and Orchestra) by the Finnish composer Rautavaara. Behind them, the singers, as if lying in wait beside a pond bathed in mist – or near a lake – Lake Baikal. So when they play a piece by Rimsky-Korsakov, The Nightingale and the Rose, one of the “bird singers” takes the part of the rose.
 
Then, magically, the imaginary journey takes us to Argentina. When they take on Astor Piazzolla’s Armageddon, François Salque and Vincent Peirani go wild. And suddenly Jean Boucault and Johnny Rasse join them as birds of the Amazon. Including the indicator bird (or honeyguide), a bird that will deliberately guide humans to bee colonies: once the nest is open and the honey taken, it will feed on the remaining larvae and wax. The miraculous world of birds.