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Reviewed by:
  • Transcriptions
  • Steve York
Transcriptions. DVD. Laurence Equibey / Accentus. Directed by Andy Sommer. [France]: Naïve, 2008. V5116. $25.99.

Filmmaker Andy Sommer, along with the French professional vocal ensemble Accentus, created this film centered on transcriptions of primarily instrumental works, some composed specifically for the thirty-voice ensemble. The works are originally for piano, orchestra, solo voice, or small ensemble, with new text created for some. Sommer describes his film–concert in the program notes as an "a cappella musical" (although several works are accompanied), and attempts to highlight the choral performance of the ensemble by filming in architecturally diverse spaces, often bathing the singers and conductor in arty "noir-like" lighting or using other effects. The DVD is a visual response to Accentus' two popular audio CDs, Transcriptions 1and Transcriptions 2. The audio is pre-recorded, as the film shifts abruptly between venues and scenes with the music remaining consistent; i.e., this is not a "live" performance. In fact, the video and music are not always synched up.

There are three primary "scenes" used in Sommer's film: First, we hear excerpts from an interview with the ensemble's conductor, Laurence Equibey, discussing choral transcriptions, editing, marking, conferring with composers, and practice-conducting some of the music as she prepares for performance. All the while, the ensemble is periodically shown performing in various settings and in various formations Sommer calls the second "scene." The third "scene" is centered on a live performance by the ensemble, breaking away during each work to show various outdoor vistas, more footage of the ensemble in different spaces singing and rehearsing, and periodically returning to the concert performance. Between pieces, viewers are brought backstage for random pre-concert and intermission interactions between conductor and singers. All these scenes are intermingled throughout the film.

Each work is performed beautifully with the transcriptions remaining true to the original work. "Winter" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, transcribed by Franck Krawczyk is an example of this. It is not a work one would normally associate with vocal music, but the ensemble is able to produce an almost instrumental sound while singing the Latin Requiemtext. Among other works worth mentioning include two movements from Ravel's Ma mere l'oyewhose texts match very well each particular tale, "The Field of the Dead" from Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, and Barber's own transcription of the "Adagio" from his String Quartet, Op. 11.

The only bothersome aspect of this video is that Sommer sometimes goes too far in his artistic filming and distracts from the music. There are only so many close-ups of lips, teeth, and eyebrows, or blurred and then focused scenes one can view while trying to concentrate on the remarkable artistry of this ensemble. If the music is what draws you to an ensemble like this in the first place then you might be well served to find their audio recordings to hear even more transcriptions.

Program notes from several of the composer/transcribers, a short essay on "vocal art," by Vincent Borel, and texts of the works in English, French, and German, are included in a fifty-nine-page booklet. [End Page 570]

Steve York
Christopher Newport University

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