"La Fiesta" d'Israël Galvan enflamme la Cour d'honneur." - Annotation
This post discusses a print document.
Bornet, Jacky. "Avignon : "La Fiesta" d'Israël Galvan enflamme la Cour d'honneur." Culturebox. FranceTv, 20 July 2017. Web. 24 July 2017.
Jacky Bornet, the journalist responsible for the Cinema section of Culturebox, is the author of this article. Bornet has written a multitude of critiques for Culturebox, with topics varying from film to theatre. On Bornet’s FaceBook page, it indicates that he studied at the University of Paris-Sorbonne which adds to his credibility. Within the piece, Bornet seeks to describe the almost hypnotic event of La Fiesta by examining the elements of flamenco dance and the particular affect sound had within the walls of the Cour d’Honneur in the Palais des Papes, Avignon. Furthermore, he investigates how this show disrupted was he calls the “codes of the festival”, which he unfortunately does not define clearly. He seems to argue that the show disrupted the said “codes of the festival” by performing something outside of audience expectations and presenting an “energy [that was] a little too strong for a public who expected a show wiser in the tradition of flamenco”. With this statement, Bornet ties in the conditions of reception of the performance text. The article then goes on to analyze how La Fiesta went beyond expectations through its use of dance and sounds in the performance by analyzing its pivotal scenes.
Through his descriptions, Bornet investigates the power of the music and sound within La Fiesta and how it garnered—polarizing—visceral reactions from audience members. He describes how the performance received heckling from the audience and moves into describing the opening scene: “two performers approach the back courtyard by clapping hands and chanting onomatopoeias”. He then illustrates how a “shudder invaded the audience as a black devil darted though the ranks” to then stamp a “demonic rhythm” on boards onstage that echoed in the space.
This is a useful source for my research on sound and space, as Bornet describes how the “chaotic procession [traversed] the scene, and as the performers [struck] the ground, shaking the old stones of the Cour d’Honneur and the bodies”.
Furthermore, Bornet goes on to reflect how the “minimalist [devices]” of the show struggled to fill the large space of the courtyard and through the use of sounds, the void of the space was filled with “footsteps and hands, and songs, [that invaded] the playing area with a crazy amplitude and precision” creating an other worldly soundscape. Moreover, Bornet goes on to describe this performance in a positive light by commenting on how the pouring flow of flamenco “exploded in a torrent of noise and fury” that “[had] a rather trance inducing effect that [caused] a sort of hypnosis”. This is, however, one journalist’s reception of the performance. Bornet gives the impression that he enjoyed the performance in his writing, which most likely situates him among the audience members that stayed till the end, as he seemingly defends the piece against those who left midway due to how affected they were by the performance text.
