Charles Quévillon + Sawtooth

Charles Quevillon (ca)

Charles Quevillon is a Canadian composer, residing in Finland. A graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, he worked for 12 years with choreographer Tedd Robinson on 27 projects, presented at major festivals. His multidisciplinary approach has led him to collaborate with ensembles such as Defunensemble (FI) and Sound Initiative (FR), Kollektiv Totem (CH), as well as with visual artist Maija Tammi. Currently pursuing a doctorate at the Sibelius Academy, his research focuses on the symbolic use of electronic technologies in music.

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Sawtooth Duo (Sarah Albu + Matti Pulkki)

Sawtooth is an eclectic voice-accordion duo exploring connections between folk music, classical music and contemporary repertoire. With a passion for experimental textures, interdisciplinary collaboration and deep connection to narrative, Sawtooth seeks out obscure song repertoire, adapts chamber pieces written for other instruments and develops new works in collaboration with composers.

Sarah Albu is a singer, composer and performance-maker specializing in new/experimental music, 20th century repertoire and free improvisation. Montreal-based Sarah is a founding member of the experimental voice collective Phth and frequently collaborates with artists working in video, installation, contemporary dance, textiles and digital media.

Accordionist Matti Pulkki is an active and enthusiastic performer of contemporary and experimental repertoire. Often performing with different chamber groups and ensembles, Pulkki seeks to explore and extend the technical and acoustic possibilities of his instrument in the music written in our time.

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Program
Loudspeaker Baptism (2024) 62'00"
Chamber opera in 4 acts for soprano, accordion, Genelec 8020D, puppeteer and electronics.

Delivery — Memories — Suffering — Sublimation
Loudspeaker Baptism aims to crack open the mundane perception of a loudspeaker as a mere commodity and activate its latent archetypal and mystical meanings. Through a playful yet earnest approach, this opera connects the consumerist and technological framework of a loudspeaker with religious and spiritual symbolism. For instance, Act I: Delivery is inspired by the modern baptism of technological objects: the “unboxing” YouTube videos. Thus, this opera asks, how to meaningfully integrate a loudspeaker, with its whole “soul” and darker facets, into human spiritual life.