Vincent Courtois - "Mediums".

Format:

Video

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Europe.

Musical ensembles.

Musical performances.

Local Subjects:

Europe.

Musical ensembles.

Musical performances.

Genre:

Performance

Physical Description:

1 online resource (54 minutes)

Place of Publication:

Paris, Ile-de-France : Qwest TV, 2012.

Language Note:

In French.

In English.

Original language in French.

Original language in English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

It has been said that Vincent Courtois has the heart of a storyteller and the delivery of a filmmaker. Any doubters would soon be proven wrong after watching the first few minutes of this film by Josselin Carré, which shows the French cellist alongside his trio, Medium, comprised of saxophonists Daniel Erdmann and Robin Fincker. We begin with flickering, blurred images of a cello, which loom into each other before dissipating to eventually reveal Courtois. He is sat in what seems like an underpass, playing his instrument jaggedly and building a smouldering sense of drama and darkness. His voice comes in, as it does intermittently through this performance, and he explains the obstacles his instrument poses: connotations of classical stuffiness, bulkiness, blandness … as we listen, we see him attacking the strings, blasting away these assumptions in real time. On original compositions, the trio proves the versatility of each of their playing styles, skating between what feels like every register and tone. Together, they weave a pastiche of images and soundscapes – at times it flies with hope, and at others it thickens, duplicates and distresses. In a bold move, Courtois has stated that many of the pieces play out his childhood memories. The result is both impressive and uncompromising. Rowan Standish Hayes

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed July 16, 2025).

Performed Auditorium Jean Jaurès