Manifeste Festival 2020: Voices of Rebecca Saunders and Éliane Radigue

The 2020 edition of Manifeste, Ircam's festival, runs from August 31 to September 13 across venues including Centre Pompidou, La Villette, and Théâtre de Gennevilliers. Directed by Frank Madlener, the program centers on engaged vocalities inspired by Agnès Varda's film 'L'une chante, l'autre pas'. Highlights include Rebecca Saunders' 'Nether' (French premiere) and 'The Mouth' performed by soprano Juliet Fraser, and a tribute to 88-year-old composer Éliane Radigue. Radigue, a pioneer of drone music, presents 'Kyema, Intermediate State' from her 'Trilogie de la mort' in the Grande Salle, and three knights of her Occam Ocean cycle perform Occam XIX, Occam River XXVII (creation), and Occam Delta XIII in front of Niki de Saint Phalle's 'La Mariée' at the Musée national d'art moderne. The festival also features a 'Musiques-Fictions' program with composers Aurélien Dumont, Daniele Ghisi, and Olivier Pasquet setting texts by Annie Ernaux, Maylis de Kerangal, and Céline Minard. A virtual second room offers binaural spatialization. The opening concert on August 31 featured Juliet Fraser's rendition of Molly Bloom's monologue from James Joyce's 'Ulysses'. Radigue, who studied under Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, and was influenced by La Monte Young and Tibetan Buddhism, now focuses on her Occam Ocean cycle, describing it as 'the music I always wanted to hear'.