GAVIN BRYARS GB

Entitled “The Sinking of the Titanic”, this evening gathers together two major works in contemporary music: “The Sinking of the Titanic” and “Jesus Blood Never Failed me Yet” by legendary composer Gavin Bryars and the more recent “Palindrome” by Mathis Saunier.

Philosopher, thinker and learned musician, Gavin Bryars is a master of contemporary music, who works his neurones on powerfully minimalist scores. Although he bullied his double bass in a trio in his early career, it is composition that brought him the freedom he craved, as evidenced by his two major works, the famous melancholy symphony “The Sinking of the Titanic” and “Jesus Blood Never Failed me Yet” which the Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain and students from HEM Neuchâtel will perform for a unique event. The latter was anecdotally entitled after he recorded a homeless guy singing in the street, a song that Tom Waits himself covered for Gavin Bryars. To complement these works, Mathis Saunier’s “Palindrome” will be performed under the direction of Antoine Françoise, Artistic Director at NEC.