At the crossroads of classical and popular music
Working with a storyteller, creating a sound story laboratory for children, playing in unusual places: violinist Valérie Bernard cultivates originality.
After training in Lausanne, Geneva and Moscow, Valérie Bernard, born in 1973, plays violin and viola in various ensembles in the Vaud region. She teaches at the Conservatoire de Sion, where she co-founded the string ensemble LE POCH (Petit Orchestre du Chablais), made up of some fifteen young instrumentalists.
Valérie Bernard, since 2002 you've been playing in the variable-geometry ensemble Contacordes, with storyteller Claire Heuwekemeijer, pianist Katja Gafner and harpist Julie Sicre...
The storyteller uses only oral tradition to invent the plot, linking stories from different countries, such as China or Russia. Not only does she speak the text, but she also scants, whispers and sings it, entangling the spoken word with music. We could call this chamber storytelling, in the sense that it's a real work of chamber music: the storyteller comes with a theme, with her ideas, and we discuss them together. We draw inspiration from the story to find the right music, avoiding any redundancy. It's not a question of simply illustrating: the music continues the story and sometimes suggests a different follow-up. We have a wide range of music at our disposal, from Baroque to contemporary (Pärt, Pesson, Schnittke). We also use sound effects from time to time, although we try to avoid distracting the audience with too strong a presence. Our shows, which are structured down to the last detail, are performed in schools, conservatories and theaters, as well as at storytelling nights, festivals and private parties.
The ensemble has also created a "sound story laboratory"...
Children are invited to choose a sound object. Together, we ask ourselves how to define a character or an emotion in music, using the sounds that can be drawn from this object, or using their own bodies (slam, game of the infernal machine). Aimed at elementary school, this "laboratory" guides children towards a greater openness to listening and a heightened curiosity through their creativity.
Contacordes' book-CD "Nom de Bleu" will be released on May 2 and 3, 2013 during the Salon du Livre, by Drosophile Editions...
The culmination of four years' work, it tells the initiatory story of a young girl in search of her first name. Rather than studio acoustics, we have chosen the exceptional acoustics of the Epalinges chapel for the recording, while the silkscreened book will feature illustrations by Anne Wilsdorf. Another CD will be released this autumn by VDE-Gallo under the title Igapo - Racine d'eau, with an ensemble of which I am also a member, the MV4tet, which plays works by its pianist, Valérie Mercier, written in a style somewhere between classical and jazz, with room for improvisation.
Since the Théâtre de l'Oriental in Vevey has been producing its shows outside its walls due to restoration work, the CH.AU ensemble - of which you are a founding member - has become a nomadic ensemble...
An excellent opportunity to meet other audiences, in unusual places like bistros or clubs. After having worked on works at the crossroads of scholarly and popular music (with works by Crumb, Harrison or Riley, for example), we are preparing Malleus Maleficarium with composers Dragos Tara and John Menoud. This project, to be performed from April 10 to 13, is dedicated to the witch-hunt in Vevey in the 15th century.
Photo : Stéphane Bertrand
