Output details

...but the clouds...

In 2009 pianist John Tilbury, revered improviser and interpreter of Morton Feldman's music, asked me to film him performing Samuel Beckett's 1976 television play …but the clouds… I had previously documented his performance of Beckett's 'Krapps Last Tape' in 2001.

This was an opportunity to observe first hand a musician’s approach to interpretation and performance, and the challenge of realising Beckett’s precise script - instructions for filming, editing and performance are exacting.

My interest in musical phrasing and its relation to film editing is paralleled by Tilbury's deep interest in Beckett and his appreciation of the writer's phrasing and sense of time - in particular the 'pause', which he equates to knowing when to remain silent while improvising. He sees musicality in all Beckett's text. Through working with Tilbury my understanding of the art of musical improvisation, in particular when to do nothing (pause) has influenced my working methods. For instance, changing the way I consider action within shots as opposed to using editing to take action forward, influencing both the duration of shots and frequency of edits.

…but the clouds… was premiered at Ad Libitum 2009, 4th Edition: Music-Word-Theater-Experiment, Warsaw, Poland, 18-24 October, in Tilbury’s concert dedicated to Beckett (19/10/09). Organised by The Polish Music Council and Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, the festival focuses on 'the relationship between sound, word, music and theatre in new art genres, unconventional interdisciplinary works and syncretic projects.' We presented a talk about Beckett and the film was screened a second time followed by Q&A (2009).

…but the clouds… was screened again in similar concerts performed by Tilbury: A Coruña, Spain, festival of experimental and improvised music at the Luis Seoane Foundation, 20 21/02/10 and Da La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea, 21/05/10