Pavana Electricæ was especially composed for the program of the Silhouettes Contemporaines album. The piece is born from an idea to use the material of the Pavana Lachrimæ by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (itself taken from Flow my tears by John Dowland), to distort it, to confront it with our modernity and with the other pieces of the album. The structure is preserved (four parts), but nothing in the original piece is recognisable.

The piece starts with a modern pop rythm that reminds us the connection of the Pavana to dance. This rythm gets into the piece and influences the second part of the composition. In the third part, the intervals used simultaneously by the guitar and the accordion are fourths, seventh or ninth, that are a tension in the Renaissance, but that are never resolved here. In this part, I wanted to create a sound ambiguity: the sound of the two instruments is blended, so that is difficult to know who is playing what. Each bend of the guitar keeps the same interval, so we change our perception of the tension and lose that of time. At this point it sounds more and more electric, like the performers are fading behind. The piece ends with electric noises which seem to be auto-generated. Their duration and characteristics are the result of the previous events.

About Silhouettes Contemporaines

Benoît Segui

Throughout his studies and still today, he diversifies his instrumental practice, exploring improvised, experimental or ancient and traditional music. These artistic researches are all carried out following a pronounced taste for the contemporary creation, all forms confused. For that, he doesn’t hesitate to go towards the other arts, whether it is with dance, the circus or the theatre, that convinced him to start a thesis at the University Aix-Marseille. He pays particular attention to the creation of shared moments with the public. These intimate contacts take the form of activities, immersive shows or exchanges. He currently performs with different ensembles and companies, such as theatre companies Sandrine Anglade, Les Aubes de l’Ouest, Les chants égarés ; Silhouettes Contemporaines ; the circus company LaterrateraL. Benoit currently lives between Paris, Marseille and Bruxelles.