Claire Renard's Sonic Installation 'La Musique des Mémoires' at Saint-Nazaire

Claire Renard, a composer and sound installation artist, presents 'La Musique des mémoires' at the Chapelle des franciscains in Saint-Nazaire, France, from March 2, 2002. The work is the culmination of three years of urban exploration across Athens, Helsinki, Lisbonne, and Saint-Nazaire, using a DAT walkman and artificial head stereo microphone to collect ambient sounds, speech, and narratives from inhabitants. Renard then composes these recordings into a 25-station listening experience, blending concrete speech ('Du côté des mots', 'Portraits') with abstract sections ('À propos du rythme', 'À propos du temps', 'Figures de l'Agora', 'Air'). Each sequence lasts three to fifteen minutes, creating a sonic film with careful dynamics, tessitura, and reverberation. The installation features subtle lighting by scenographer Esa Vesmanen. Renard emphasizes an imaginary evocation rather than documentary reportage, focusing on the aesthetic experience of time and space. The work will be reprised in a different configuration in May 2003 at the Festival des musiques, Friche de la Belle de Mai, Marseille, and in June 2003 at the Biennale Giardini Arte in Italy with 'L'Esprit des lieux'.