Fischkonzert

A movie by Arthur Stammet

This movie illustrates a performance, which have been organized in autumn 2009 by the Philharmonie Luxembourg for the „rainy-days 2009" contemporary music festival, in association with „Noise Watchers Unlimited" and „Solidarität mit Hörgeschädigten".

Claude Lenners wrote a music composition which is not intended to be listened to by a standard concert public. The work hasn't at all to be listened to, because the „singers" do not what they are normally intended to do: create sounds with their voices. Directed by their director, the three singers, completed by a sign language interpreter, do their job stopping half-way. The sign language interpreter, on his side, does his usual job: communicating without using sounds.

This quartet operating behind the glasses of a shop window, integrating the window display like some fish in a kind of dry aquarium, the public just has to look at music happening in an inaudible manner. By this way, „normal" people are converted into deaf and dumb persons, „listening" to a concert in the normal and somewhere absurd way of people, limited by their deafness.
The movie uses the original sound, taken on the set during the performance, and its soundtrack is no less no more than the usual soundscape of a shopping center, here: „BelvalPlaza" in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. It is possible, by this way, to hear (by hearing anything but singing voices) that the singers did much less than singing, leaving away the (best) sounding part of their normal job. The director holds together their performances, while the sign language interpreter does his job (telling the dramatic story of Beethoven's deafness) in his usual way, independently, directed by the only text, he was intended to translate into sign language.

The whole performance uses the german language for two reasons: Beethoven was German and the german language is generally used in Luxembourg by our sign language interpreters.

Arthur Stammet, March 2003

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Movie
• fish
• concert
• singer
• director
• Philharmonie Luxembourg
• rainy days
• Beethoven
• deaf
• performance
• sign language
• BelvalPlaza
• Belval
• Esch-sur-Alzette
• Luxembourg
• live
• contemporary music