Chess Music For The Moving Image 11/30/12 Philadelphia Museum of Art

Chess Music for the Moving Image: The Queen Stripped Bare By Her Pawns, Even 
November 30, 2012  Performed by: Morricone Youth

"Chess Music for the Moving Image: The Queen Stripped Bare By Her Pawns, Even" is an interactive multimedia performance  of chance in the spirit of composer John Cage and dance choreographer Merce Cunningham performed by MORRICONE YOUTH, a New York City collective dedicated to the music of  film and other visual medias.  Audience members will be invited
to participate in a game of chess that determines the musical progression of reinterpreted iconic French composed soundtracks interwoven with dance performances and video projections based on the movements of the chess pieces.  The performance is inspired by Marcel Duchamp's painted works leading up to and including The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even (1915-1923).  In 1912, Duchamp began to depict  motion and introduce concepts such as "the moving image" into his two-dimensional painted works, influenced by the then emerging new art form known as "cinema."  In 1918, Duchamp took leave from the The Bride Stripped Bare and the art world in general to focus on studying the game of chess before returning to the work in 1920.  In the live and projected chess match, the Bride will be represented by the Queen and the Bachelors by her  Pawns, Knight and Bishop.  

The intersecting work of John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Marcel Duchamp explored the collision between chance, collaboration, and often the game of chess.  The chess game will determine the musical progression of the concert and the movements of the dancers. Matthew Caron and Rebecca Gaffney will create spontaneous visual juxtapositions for each move on the chess board using an array of live cameras, prepared video clips and "ready made" objects curated in the spirit of Marcel Duchamp. This program is offered in conjunction with the exhibition Dancing around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Duchamp, on view October 30, 2012–January 21, 2013. Two time American Women’s Chess Champion Jennifer Shahade emcees.  

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The Bride (Queen) 

 "Un Homme et Une Femme" from Un Homme et Une Femme (1966) 
composed by Francis Lai 

Station Master (Rook) 
"(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" from Love Story (1970) 
composed by Francis Lai 

Servant/Flunky (Pawn) 

"Ballade of Melody Nelson/L'Hotel Particulière" from Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971)  
composed by Serge Gainsbourg 

Gendarme (Knight)

 "Where Did Our Summers Go/I Don't Know Why" from La Leçon Particulière (1969) 
 composed by Francis Lai 

The Priest (Bishop) 

"Hello Goodbye" from Hello Goodbye (1970) 
composed by Francis Lai 

Delivery Boy (Pawn)

 "La Valse d'Amélie/L'Autre Valse d'Amélie" from Amelie (2001) 
composed by Yann Tierson 

Cavalryman (Pawn)

 "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) 
 composed by Michel Legrand 

Undertaker (Pawn)

 "Windmills of Your Mind" from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) 
composed by Michel Legrand 

Busboy (Pawn)

 "Yesterday Yes A Day/First Class Ticket" from Madame Claude (1977) 
composed by Serge Gainsbourg 

Policeman (Pawn)

 "Strip-Tease" from Strip-Tease (1963) composed by Serge Gainsbourg

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MORRICONE YOUTH
www.morriconeyouth.com
info@morriconeyouth.com  

Guitar    Devon E. Levins
Bass/Vocals    John Castro 
Keyboards   Dan Kessler 
Tenor/Soprano Saxophone    Fraser Campbell 
Drums/Percussion    Timur Yusef 
Vocals/Accordion    Magda Giannikou 
Live Video Projections    Matthew Caron    Rebecca Gaffney 
Dancers     Medianoche    Ariel Rios