Staff carefully place a small white square under each horn. "A Sopalin," slips a musician. To avoid postilions which condense on the ground. After two months of closure caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, the Philharmonie de Paris is once again resonating with musical notes with its incredible acoustics. On stage, seventeen musicians without masks rehearse this Wednesday, May 27 for a recording broadcast on Arte Concert.
From above, their distribution is striking: each is spaced two meters apart. "At first, we were online, but the circle made it easier to visualize", deciphers Philippe Aïche, violinist and conductor who suggested the initiative. Despite the muffled atmosphere, the faces radiate and the muffled laughter resounds.
"The capture, it is symbolic, but it is not an economic model, insists Laurent Bayle, the director general, whose room suffered about 12 million euros in lost sales. But we had to offer these moments to musicians who suffered from not playing. It is a performance by the Paris orchestra with several extracts of songs, adapted for live broadcast. We will do more this summer. "
After the rehearsal, it's time to reunite in the lodges, where the coffee machine is running at full speed. "I had chills to replay," exclaims Julien, flautist, by mimicking these spiky hairs. He couldn't train for two months. "Impossible with children! I was a little rusty, but when I was offered, on a voluntary basis, I ran! When his friend Giorgio laughs: "My neighbors heard my bassoon for the first time during confinement. I think they are relieved. "
Except that we had to adapt. In a corridor, a musician has fun pulling out the visor, a sort of construction helmet, which he had originally planned to play. He puts it on under Giorgio's puzzled gaze before beginning a few notes. His instrument, a flute, slides under the plastic. " It's okay ? He inquires. And Giorgio exploded with laughter: "The sound yes, but not your head. Fortunately, you don't end up on TV like that tonight! "
Plasticized partition
Despite everything, certain rules make the practice more complex. “Everyone has their lectern and their plastic partition. After the frost at the entrance, it's funny to get back in the bath, ”says Giorgio. But it is above all the separation that confuses. “Normally, we scrutinize ourselves to beat time. I feel when my neighbor is going to start. There, we must completely review our reflexes. We're no longer on the alert. It's more tiring, ”notes Arnaud, clarinetist. When Lionel, another bassoon player, abounds: “Sometimes I don't even hear Giorgio. I am destabilized. And this last one to joke: "Sometimes I don't play to make you a joke!" "
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Because everyone prefers to take the situation for fun. “It feels good to be somewhere other than our WhatsApp group. Even if we can't kiss each other at the end, regrets Giorgio. Like a head orchestra. "
Already 6.30 p.m. We have to go. Everyone heads for the same corridor. "A sense of traffic like in the supermarket!" Before, we came in through different doors, ”Arnaud murmurs. One by one, the musicians come on the scene, silent. “Be careful… 1, 2, 3, generic! Exclaims a masked man.
At the control, this new organization makes some happy. “We can't hang a projector on two, but that opens up possibilities for creation, like these bright squares in the background. You can't have fun with habit so as not to dazzle the audience, ”whispers Jerome, concentrated.
From afar, the eyes of the musicians shine when a handful of journalists savor the songs silently so as not to disturb the cameras. At the exit, we meet Julien, ecstatic. "It was happiness, we no longer believed in it," he said. Even if without spectators, it was strange. I looked reflexively for their faces. And when I got up, I sometimes waited for the applause ... which did not come. But that's already it, that makes you crazy! "
There, it's time to enjoy the usual beer after a performance. Despite a distant toast, it has a special flavor this evening: "That of a future that is finally opening, like a new year. "