© Dorothée Thébert Filliger

Bande originale

Symphony-manifesto of a contemporary ancestral collective

After painting and sculpture, Old Masters continues its enterprise of reappropriating the major arts with its powerful tools of modest art. Based on a musical work created for the occasion by Nicholas Stücklin, Old Masters proposes a radical scenic experience: a collective listening of a sound piece, adorned with a text as a surtitle and with living paintings of striking minimalism.
Bande originale appears as the manifesto of a small group of beings, both ultimate post-apocalyptic survivors and post-neolithic ancestors. Their discourse intertwines political claims, philosophical observations and biographical stories with humor, violence and sweetness. They affirm their vision of the collective, a total solidarity based on absolute despair.

Tour

11 – 12 Mar 2025,

Théâtre d’Orléans, Orléans (F)

13 – 14 Jun 2023,

Printemps des comédiens, Montpellier (F)

27 May 2023,

BIAMThéâtre 13, Paris (F)

12 – 13 May 2023,

CCS on tourThéâtre de Poche, Hédé-Bazouges (F)

15 – 18 Sep 2021,

Festival de la BâtieLe Grütli, Genève (CH)

25 – 30 May 2021,

Arsenic, Lausanne (CH)

The piece Bande originale can be presented en français, in English, auf Deutsch, in italiano and in any other language (surtitles).

Press

Un petit Tour et puis s’en va – Le Centre Culturel Suisse au Printemps des Comédiens, Jean-Paul Guarino, Offshore revue, 19 june 2023
Old Masters, L’ art de la toile de fond, Anaïs Heluin, sceneweb.fr, 1 June 2023
Old Masters, Bande originale, Agathe Le Taillandier, Ma culture.fr, 20 April 2023
Symphonie d’une brève histoire du monde, Guillaume Lasserre, Un certain regard sur la culture, Blog Mediapart, 1 Feb 2022
«On devrait douter de ce qu’on pense», Katia Berger, Tribune de Genève, 16 sept 2021

Awards

  • Winner of the Swiss Design Awards 2022 for the scenographic installation of Bande originale.
  • Prix Töpffer Geneva 2022 for Sarah André for the graphic novel based on Bande originale.

Credits

A piece by Old Masters
Original soundtrack: Nicholas Stücklin
Text, staging, stage design, costumes, cast: Sarah André, Marius Schaffter and Jérôme Stünzi
Light design : Joana Oliveira
Artistic collaboration : Anne Delahaye
Outside eyes: Nicholas Stücklin and Joana Oliveira
Administration: Laure Chapel – Pâquis production
Touring: Tristan Barani
Production manager: Jessica Vaucher
Co-production : Le Grütli, Genève and Arsenic – Centre d’art scénique contemporain, Lausanne

Soundtrack orchestra

Composition, adaptation : Nicholas Stücklin
Violins : Rada Hadjikostova, Delphine Bouvier
Viola : Raya Raytcheva
Cello : Mariafrancesca Passante
Double bass : George Beaver
Clarinet, bass clarinet : Marie Mercier
Transverse flute : Susanne Peters
Trumpet : Valentin François
Trombones : Alexandre Mastrangelo, Grégoire Devaux
Direction : Florent Lattuga
Music transcription : Rotem Sherman
Sound recording : Bruno Blancpatin

Buy the LP or just listen to the OST of Bande originale here.

Bande originale, has been adapted as a comic book by Sarah André and was published by Ripopée and is availble here. Sarah André has received the prize Töpffer Genève in 2022.

Support

Pro Helvetia – Fondation suisse pour la culture, Organe genevois de répartition de la Loterie romande, Fondation Leenards, SSA Bourse de composition musicale, Fonds d’encouragement pour l’emploi des intermittents genevois, Corodis, République et Canton de Genève.