The Spirit of Nature Brings the Cité de la Musique to Life
A breath of fresh air swept through the opening concert of the Philharmonie de Paris’s “Choir Weekend.” Under the musical direction of Léo Warynski and stage direction of Éric Obersdorff, Les Métaboles brought to life the world of composer Raymond Murray Schafer.
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With Miniwanka or The Moments of Water (1971), we are introduced to Schafer’s graphic scores, which require a more analog approach from the conductor and organic cohesion from the choir. The stage movements highlight Obersdorff’s beautiful staging, whose choreographic dimension is evident. In addition to the fluidity of movement that accompanies the sequence of pieces, this stage design succeeds in transforming the musicians’ tools—sheet music and music stands—into elements of the set, diversifying their possible uses (multiplying and sharing them), inducing unusual postures, and encouraging listeners to engage with the music while in motion. Following the various states of water, those of snow bring, in *Snowforms* (1983)—with its ten Inuit words for snow—the tranquility of soaring harmonies entrusted to a women’s choir.
Complemented by Veljo Tormis’s Raua needmine (1972, revised 1991), the program shifts toward the Nordic imagination and the *Kalevala* epic. This “Curse of Iron” inspired the Estonian composer to create music with strong shamanic resonances, which echoes Schafer’s Native American rituals. A drum, deep voices verging on the fry register, a blurred line between speech and song—and at times even between singing and shouting—all of this is remarkably brought to life by Les Métaboles. Since its premiere in Metz in 2023, this remarkable performance has clearly continued to resonate deeply with its performers.
"he stage movements highlight Obersdorff’s beautiful staging, whose choreographic dimension is evident. In addition to the fluidity of movement that accompanies the sequence of pieces, this stage design succeeds in transforming the musicians’ tools—sheet music and music stands—into elements of the set, diversifying their possible uses (multiplying and sharing them), inducing unusual postures, and encouraging listeners to engage with the music while in motion."