creator
the Memory of Voice
The Memory of Voice (MOV) knits together whispers, breath and melodies of ancient and future ancestors into a cathartic voice ritual 35 min.
I have created this solo performance in close collaboration with choreographer, vocal researcher and costume maker Michèle Wattez. The Memory of Voice is the sequel project of ‘The Assembly’.
Project artistic direction Catherine Elsen, Charlotte Bruneau Produced by Pitchblack Collective, CCRD OpderSchmelz Voice, Composition, Performance Catherine Elsen Performance Creation Catherine Elsen, Michèle Wattez Scenography Dovile Gecaite, Serge Ecker, Benu Village Costume, Choreography Michèle Wattez Tech Creators Rokas Kisonas Vaidotas Gruzas, Deividas Dzikevicius Mix Soundtrack Cedric Fischer
for the ultimate prize
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationThis song is inspired by Shervin Hajipour’s “Baraye”, written during the current protest movement in Iran. 16 year old Nika Shahkarami starts of the song. Expressing her right for freedom during the protests she was unrightfully killed. I was deeply touched when I heard her beautiful angelic voice for the first time. It was clear to me that she had to start the song in the same way that the many brave women did start the courage of the masses. Then whispers are following, for me they symbolise the many invisible connecting forces conjuring up a revolution, despite the suffocating sound of an inhalation. This song should give support and contribute to the momentum of the freedom fighters in Iran.
Voice, composition and production: Catherine Elsen Lyrics: Catherine Elsen and parts of translated “Baraye” Beatmaking and music production: Jonas Marc Godefroid Mastering: Ben Barnich Artistic collaboration: Collage Féminicides Luxembourg Camera: Gilles Seyler Support: Christophe Birgen
The Assembly
‘The Assembly’ project is an installation-based VR experience and performance inspired by the ancient practice of sounding together. The Assembly has been produced in 2022 for the European capital of culture Esch2022 in Luxembourg, and toured in Kaunas and France.
“Catherine Elsen was recently awarded the Young “Talent Prize at the Lëtzebuerger Theaterpräisser 2021. She shows with the project The Assembly that she keeps all her promises. After Soul-Scapes imagined in 2018 with Tania Soubry and Love, Death & Polar Bears in 2019, it makes a fairly spectacular qualitative leap.”
March 2022 La Glaneuse
Chrysalis Avalanche
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationConcealed behind our masks and in national “safety” nets of surveillance, ways of “protection” can feel fake in this era of climate emergency and ongoing pandemic. My sanity tries to find ways to resist in an overwhelming world. Can the cocoon of the confinement era be a transformational opportunity to mature, break out of the corset and heal our “natural” contact with others and the environment? In my dreams my subconscious runs “back to the woods”, wanting to join the animals living there.
Music and Concept: Catherine Elsen Music Production: Catherine Elsen and Pouya Ehsaei Mix and Mastering: Pouya Ehsaei Visual concept, Camera and Editing: Marianne Villière Production by: Independent Little Lies With the support of Ministère de la Culture and Ville d’Esch-sur-Alzette
Love, death and polar bears
“Her performance is an acrobatic exercise in style which is not immune to hilarious, falsely uncontrolled slip-ups. The vocal performance in particular is impressive in the way it switches and distorts its tones and tessitura. The soundtrack, which also features Laurie Anderson, Nina Simone and Wham, is sung a cappella. Elsen convinces both with and without electronic effects.”
April 2019 in La Glaneuse
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationLove, Death and Polar Bears is my first one hour long solo show blending my passion for performance, dark humor and live concert. Drowning polar bears, alternative facts and global politics make us hold our breath. We are shooting towards the apocalypse but still want to be seen, liked and accepted by others. So busy with ourselves, can we devote as much empathy to the world as it asks for? Has the gap between us and the other become too big? Love, Death and Polar Bears is a scream from the tip of an iceberg whose depth none of us can really predict. Schmaltzy pop songs, electronic effects, poetry, humor and pathos create an eclectic concert-performance. Catherine Elsen (the one woman) will make her way through the dried out valleys and defrosting lands of the alienating world we currently live in.
Produced by Independent Little Lies, CCRD Opderschmelz Concept and performance Catherine Elsen Dramaturgical support and visuals Marianne Villière Musical consultant Pouya Ehsaei Costume design Michèle Tonteling Lighting design and technical support Krischan Kriesten