An exceptional concert

On the occasion of the millennium of the construction of the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, the violinist and composer Robin Antunes has imagined a suite for large ensemble whose score is the result of unpublished acoustic research in situ.

Entitled Mons Tumba, (the "Mont Tombe", original name of the Mont Saint-Michel), this concert is the result of a work of referencing and analysis of all the frequencies present in the sound spectrum of the church. It emerges that the building favors certain notes and pitches more than others, thus constituting a harmonic range of its own. The sounds are at the service of a composition that mixes written score and improvisation. They emphasize the chord of the abbey, a series of notes whose resonance is the most harmonious with regard to the architecture.

Robin Antunes signs here an original musical creation, halfway between improvised music and jazz, directly inspired by the so singular acoustics of the place which acts like a twelfth musician. The concert takes the form of an immersive performance that draws on the history of the place as well as its architecture.

The work will be recorded in binaural, a sound capture technology that allows its restitution in 3D.

Distribution

The ensemble is made up of 11 musicians from the jazz world:

• a string quintet with two cellos ;
• a woodwind quartet composed of a flute, an English horn, a saxophone and a clarinet;
• and finally two brass instruments, the trumpet and the trombone.

The string quintet forms the backbone of the work, to which the woodwind quartet responds by emphasizing the different harmonics. The brass instruments play a role of harmonic saturation, creating contrasts that appear and disappear, echoing the tides of the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel.

Robin Antunes: violin, prepared quinton, composition and direction

Maëlle Desbrosses: viola, prepared viola

Adèle Viret: cello, prepared cello

Juliette Serrad : cello, prepared cello

Juan Villaroel : double bass, prepared double bass

Christelle Raquillet: flute, flute in G

Clémentine Ristord: soprano saxophone

Guillaume Guedin: clarinet, bass clarinet

Ariane Bacquet: english horn, oboe

Hector Lena-Schroll: trumpet, piccolo trumpet

Paco Andreo: trombone

Robin Antunes is a young musician of 29 years old who graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Paris, and holds a master's degree in jazz and improvised music.

Whether alongsideEtienne Mbappé, in theNational Jazz Orchestra or with his own group Monsieur MÂLÂ (" Revelation " Jazz Mag 2022), Robin is a musician with an insatiable appetite for new musical worlds. As a curious and travelling sideman, with a personality sought after by international artists, he has already been able to take part in a large number of collaborations with artists of many styles and genres ranging from jazz to pop, including West African, Caribbean, Middle Eastern music,ambient and free improvisation. These varied experiences have allowed him to nourish and develop his unique language. So many sounds that he explores with his instruments and effects pedals, especially in the compositions he produces.

Practical information

• Jazz and improvised music concert
• Friday April 28th at 8:30 pm
• Abbey church of Mont-Saint-Michel
• Free concert
• On reservation here

Work financed by the program of support to the artistic creation New Worlds implemented by the Ministry of Culture in the framework of France Relance.