Extremely Pedestrian Chorales is a collaborative performance project written and choreographed by Karl Jay Lewin and Matteo Fargion, presenting the prosaic and commonplace experience of the pedestrian as an act of beauty, meaning and gentle comedy.
Five Stars ***** The Herald – ‘… a clever, funny, and thought-provoking 45 minutes…’
This original piece of work takes inspiration, form and structure from the sublime harmonies of Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous Chorales – pitching them into our present day lives with a dash of punkish irreverence. Bach’s Chorales are a series of simple choral harmonies originally written to encourage public participation in the singing of the mass in the post-Renaissance 18th Century church. We have taken a selection of the Chorales and translated the four-part harmonies (base, tenor, alto and soprano) into a written graphic score, which in turn is used to choreograph 36 dances; solos, duets, trios and quartets of simple movements infused with complex spatial and rhythmic patterns.
It presents audiences with a beguiling mix of high and low art which explores the multifarious roles and movement languages of the pedestrian.
Four Stars **** The Scotsman ‘The effect, in Extremely Pedestrian Chorales, is strange, sometimes comic, sometimes intensely moving…’The ensemble comprises of 4 dancers of very different training, physicality, and age in order to mirror the discordance of the ‘everyday’ pedestrian and to create something visually arresting and unusual. The personality and subtle relationships between the dancers shines through, with a look, smile or spontaneous gesture filling the stage with fleeting meaning. Several of the dances include a musical accompaniment; either Bach’s original chorale harmonies, or original compositions inspired by Bach’s Chorales.
Integral to the project is a tailored w/s programme, offering a fun, participatory, inclusive and demystifying introduction to the work.—-The work is by design, adaptable to different venue scales and performance contexts from the basic facilities available in village halls, though to well-equipped black box theatres. The piece premiered over 3 dates at Kinloss Church Hall, Moray, to a capacity of 40 at Findhorn Bay Festival, presented with no theatre lighting and portable speakers operated from an onstage laptop. The dramaturgy of the work incorporated the informal church hall setting, with the dancers arriving and leaving with their Ikea bag of portable equipment and props. It can also be presented on a formal context with the inclusion of an eight-voice live choir and full theatrical lighting.
