In collaboration with
Tomás Oliveira and Hurtmold
Musical performance > with a 02” excerpt of film “Three Women” by Lev Arnshtam, 1935-6
Musical performance > with a 02” excerpt of film “Three Women” by Lev Arnshtam, 1935-6
Hand saw
Internationale is
a piece created especially for the second edition of "Serrote Live", an event
held at the Instituto Moreira Salles (SP), on the 23 March, 2019. The work
meets two demands of different nature: 1. the observation of the performative
aspect of the format, where the authors present their essays to a live
audience; and 2. the use of a handsaw (in Portuguese; "serrote"), which lends
its name to the magazine.
By way of cover of the ephemeral publication, Hand saw Internationale started with the projection of a short extract from Подруги [Three women], from 1935-6. This film, by Russian director Lev Arnshtam, was mostly noted for its soundtrack, arranged by no other than Dmitri Shostakovich. And, in particular, for a rendition of the Socialist anthem "The Internationale" (1871) performed in a deliberately clumsy fashion, using the – then new instrument – Theremin.
Carried out in collaboration with Tomás Oliveira, the musical performance consisted of the live rendition of that same said "drunken" arrangement, but transposed from the Theremin to a Musical Saw. Building upon several loops of his saw recorded live, Tomás performed "The Internationale" in full, involving also at the end the accompanying improvisation of experimental music band Hurtmold.
On the trail of a presidential electoral campaign marked by paranoid speculation regarding the return of an alleged "communist threat", Shostakovich’s mockery in USSR seemed to have acquired a disquieting seriousness in contemporary Brazil.
By way of cover of the ephemeral publication, Hand saw Internationale started with the projection of a short extract from Подруги [Three women], from 1935-6. This film, by Russian director Lev Arnshtam, was mostly noted for its soundtrack, arranged by no other than Dmitri Shostakovich. And, in particular, for a rendition of the Socialist anthem "The Internationale" (1871) performed in a deliberately clumsy fashion, using the – then new instrument – Theremin.
Carried out in collaboration with Tomás Oliveira, the musical performance consisted of the live rendition of that same said "drunken" arrangement, but transposed from the Theremin to a Musical Saw. Building upon several loops of his saw recorded live, Tomás performed "The Internationale" in full, involving also at the end the accompanying improvisation of experimental music band Hurtmold.
On the trail of a presidential electoral campaign marked by paranoid speculation regarding the return of an alleged "communist threat", Shostakovich’s mockery in USSR seemed to have acquired a disquieting seriousness in contemporary Brazil.
Video >
recording of the rehearsal at Instituto Moreira Salles, São Paulo