Cummings and goings

Poems by E. E. Cummings (1894 – 1962), brought by celebrated actor Josse De Pauw, accompanied and supported by searching percussion, stuttering grooves, and melodic drumming by Eric Thielemans and the music of composer-pianist Kris Defoort, who moves between composition and improvisation. Three unique voices. Performing, searching, singing, speaking, talking. Cummings' work was progressive because of his experiments with form, syntax, and language. The poet invented his own words and gave existing words a personal meaning. He saw the poem simultaneously as a visual object on the page and as a text that must be read and recited. In ‘Cummings and goings’, Eric Thielemans, Josse De Pauw and Kris Defoort also add their own meaning to his groundbreaking work through musical interpretation. ‘Cummings and goings’ is performed as a concert where each performer wears headphones. The result is introverted yet expressive, musically maximalist and resonant, without explicit translation in the performance. As if the audience is allowed to be present at the intimate setting of a recording session. Josse De Pauw and Eric Thielemans met at production house LOD when they worked together on the music theater performance “Liefde / Zijn handen” (2007), written by Josse and composed by Jan Kuijken. Afterwards, Josse and Eric made “Rops/Snare” (2009) together, a duo performance written by Josse, inspired by the work of Félicien Rops, where Eric's snare drum evokes a whole world of sound. Kris Defoort and Josse De Pauw previously worked together on various live performances, created at LOD, where Kris was composer in residence for years. One of those works is “An Old Monk” (2013), a theater concert inspired by Thelonious Monk. Eric Thielemans played in Kris Defoorts project “ConVerSations / ConSerVations”, together with Dreamtime, Claron McFadden and the string ensemble Quatuor Danel, released in 2005 by W.E.R.F. Records.