Carolyn Sparey: Les Planchistes de Paris au Musee d'Art Moderne for solo viola

8-minute piece for solo viola composed in 2004.

Bound-printout of computer-typset score (5pp).

Programme Note

“During October 2003 I paid a visit to Paris where my son was living for a few months; an avid skateboarder, he had discovered several places in the city where the sport was accepted, including the long Metro corridors and the Champs Elysees. During my visit, he took me to the Musee d'Art Moderne, not very far from Trocadero and and the Eiiffel Tower; I couldn't imagine the Musee d'Art and skateboarding having much in common, but as we walked along the Rue de President Wilson and approached the museum, I heard in the distance what can only be described as the manic sounds of skateboards ---- dozens and dozens of them, crashing and rolling over paving; as we stepped out through the elegant arches and came to the top of the steps sweeping down to an open square, my breath was taken away ---- art in motion is the only way I can describe my initial thought. As my son joined the boarding throng, I found a safe corner and watched --- and watched.”

The contrast between the venue and the activity fascinated me; the wide paved area with elegant stairs, wall freizes and enormous marble statues of reclining naked female figures lent itself more to some serious Greek tragedy than manic skateboarding. The skateboarders were aged between about 11 and 35, and it appeared to be an exclusively male occupation that day, the atmosphere singing with macho energy. The silent, pale reclining statues were in almost comic contrast to the brown-skinned, muscle-rippling skaters who leapt, and sped around them, sweat flying in the sunlight.

I wanted to capture the moment, but at the time had no idea how, other than taking a few photographs. Over the following months an idea began to emerge; through my passive involvement in the sport via my son I was aware that skateboarding was regarded in some quarters almost as a 'rogue' sport, a notion which relates in some ways to the position of the viola in the musical domain. As a viola player myself, I decided to write a composition for my own instrument.

The composition begins very quietly with a series of gentle pizzicato notes, attempting to suggest the early morning peace which comes before people begin moving about in the public places of Paris. Since the setting for this skateboarding experience was in Paris, I was very keen to bring into my composition a hint of the French sound; Debussy's technical innovation of using a whole tone scale of six notes, along with his love of parallel fourths and fifths, lent themselves perfectly to the atmosphere I wanted to convey. Then the peace is broken as the skateboarders arrive, testing their boards on the paving stones and preparing for a long day of noise, action and comradeship.” Carolyn Sparey