On Saturday 9 December 2023, at its Christmas concert at the Logis de Plaisance in Barbezieux, the Brass Band de Charente gave an immersive performance!
From John Williams to Christmas carols and Richard Wagner, our varied programme was a hit with the audience, who we thank once again for coming.
But this traditional event also gave us the opportunity, through immersive art, to tackle the theme of safeguarding the marine environment.
We are the ocean
Our program included a piece entitled "We are the ocean", composed by Dan Price. This piece refers to the children's book written by Captain Paul Watson (*) and illustrated by painter Sarah Borg. https://www.artmajeur.com/sarahborg100/fr
To our delight, Sarah Borg was in Barbezieux to sign copies of 'We are the ocean', which were on sale at our concert.
Music alone doesn't really tell a story. If you ask ten people to listen to the same piece of music and ask them what it reminds them of, you'll get ten different answers. But when music is combined with a story, it can give it a strength that the story alone would never have had without it.
The role of film music, for example, is well established. What would "Once Upon a Time in the West" be without Ennio Morricone's harmonica, or "Star Wars" without John Williams' themes?
So, while the brass band played 'We are the ocean', images from Paul and Sarah's book scrolled across a screen, and Dan Price's interpretation of the piece allowed us to add an extra dimension to the book. This modest experience of immersive art in the service of a great cause has, we hope, moved the spectators (and Sarah!) who will now be able to link the images of this book to the magnificent sound universe proposed by Dan Price, both of which will remain engraved in their sensory memory.
Dan Price composed "We are the ocean" especially for the Brass Band de Charente, so we're very proud to have been part of this adventure, helping to raise awareness of a social issue that concerns us all.
(* Paul Watson, a former Greenpeace activist, is the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and of his own Captain Paul Watson Foundation since 2023.)