Many of the films of Manon de Boer and Jayne Parker present musicians, with their gestures, technique and instruments, as they perform certain pieces, like the ones included in this session: Sequenza, by Luciano Berio, Blues in B-flat, by Volker Heyn, Tre Canti Popolari, by Giacinto Scelsi, and 4’33”, by John Cage. Pere Portabella did something similar in the seventies, with the musician and composer Carles Santos in Play Back and Acció Santos, calling on music and its office as a central element, something he continued to do in much of his work.
The last film in the session is dedicated to the composer Christian Wolff and is one of the many in which Luke Fowler takes music and musicians as his subject. Here, the Scottish filmmaker creates a portrait of the US composer, showing, with his sketches and voice, some of the strategies he uses when composing.
Sequenza, Manon de Boer, 2014, 16 mm, 14 min
The Oblique, Jayne Parker, 2018, 16 mm, 11 min
One, Two, Many, Manon de Boer, 2012, Super 16 mm, Catalan subtitles, 21 min
Play Back, Pere Portabella, 1970, 35 mm, 8 min
Acció Santos, Pere Portabella, 1973, 35 mm, 12 min
Two Times 4’33”, Manon de Boer, 2008, 35 mm, 12 min
For Christian, Luke Fowler, 2016, 16 mm, Catalan subtitles, 6 min
Digital screening.
Copies courtesy of LUX and Pere Portabella – Films 59.
A programme by Celeste Araújo and Oriol Sánchez.
