Pedro Garcia Velasquez, Benjamin Lazar
Lieux Perdus (2014)
for 4 singers, chamber orchestra, electronics and “3D” binaural listening

Lieux Perdus is a theatre of sound that plays on the evocative power of sound and music to reveal imaginary places. The musical composition interacts with a theatrical dramaturgy, inviting the listener to an imaginary stroll through the sound, by sound. A map (attached) of “visited” places is distributed as a program, inviting the listener to a virtual wander – playing on the border between evocative landscapes and pure music.
Supplied with headphones, an immersive and “3D” sound transports each listener to an ancient territory, like something out of a tale or a forgotten history. A church, a castle in ruin, a nocturnal plain or a courtyard in the morning, each have their specific music. Musicians play live, and the sound is “transported” to these places by computer tools, as well as with each of these place’s resonance qualities (echo off the walls, containment, outdoor) and disturbances (wind, footsteps, voices…).
The journey begins in a church. It is initially inhabited by the music of Gabrieli, essence that gradually evaporates. The windy church then reveals what has remained in its ruins, how it has transformed.

It is an intimate experience, in the collective set of a concert.

In order to allow a stronger establishment of the « virtual, imaginary, headphones world », musicians play at the beginning from another hall. Musicians and public joins in the middle of the piece. The headphone listening persists. Few minutes before the end, the conductor invites us to remove our headphones, and thus to arrive to the last place (lieu) to
visit, the place where we are physically.
This virtual world of the headphones is in constant tension with the physical world of musicians on set.
The listener/spectator attends split realities – interpenetrating, fictitious and materialistic – bringing magical dimensions to the scenic presence of the performers.

Watch a short film about the piece :

The presence of a sound engineer of the company and of the “Musical
Informatics realisation” is highly recommended.
The presence of one of the authors is very recommended to better adapt
the piece to each place.
The presence of light designer is necessary if light should be modified.

Lieux Perdus has been written in collaboration with different disciplines
in the sound field. Each brought with his knowledge and musical
sensitivity ideas and indispensable details for the work.
The writing of Lieux Perdus is similar to a film creation where the
director relies on different artists while keeping a global view of the
overall artistic object and consolidating the writing every step.