MEDIATHEK

La Femme Atlantide (“Lady Atlantis”) is a multimedia production created for a female harp player and live audio & video electronics. The premiere took place in May 2015 in Antwerp, Belgium. The piece is inspired on the poem “Atlantide” by Alice de Chambrier, a nineteenth-century Swiss poet. De Chambrier wrote the poem at the age of 19. It evokes the ancient legend of the lost continent swallowed by the sea. Our production focuses on the creation and re-creation of sounds, on the opposition between the actuality of live music and the distortion of remembered and re-produced sounds and images.

The score is a combination of traditional musical notation and theatrical instructions including the recitation of text, the manipulation of the microphones and camera, and movements on stage. Aside from playing the harp, the player controls every aspect of the performance by triggering the computer software with various pedals. The software output results through a live video delay technique in a visual screen projection and a quadrophon audio setup.

The performance follows the structure of the poem, dividing the work into 3 sections. Each section creates a different atmosphere, gradually building up the tension towards the last part, which leads to a virtuoso climax. The variety between the sections is achieved by producing traditional and experimental sounds on the harp instrument, using different materials to excite the strings. All sections are accompagnied by a specific kind of video close-up to emphasize visual differences between the parts.

The stage setup is divided in two separate parts, creating a theatrical tension between live performance and visual commentary. The left hand side is assigned to the performer, the instrument, microphones, webcam and all the other technical equipment. The performer takes different positions, alternatively playing the harp or manipulating the camera and microphones. The other side is dominated by a large projection screen, displaying the result of the live feed and the video delay effects. As such, the left part can be perceived as a little movie set where the musician is both actor and director. The audience can watch the final result live on the screen.