Michel Godard - A Serpent's Dream

Facts Godard brings together renowned musicians in his ensemble "Le miroir du temps", who want to break out of customary conventions exactly as he does. Katharina Bäuml is one of the leading Baroque oboists today and also specializes in playing the medieval shawm with her own ensemble "Capella de la Torre", the tone quality of which combines with Michel Godard's serpent in a fascinating way. The the orbo player Bruno Helstroffer also has a lot of experience in historical performance practice, but also experiments with newer ways of playing, which he develops in different contexts. Lucas Niggli, one of the most versatile European drummers in jazz as well as improvised music, knows how to create rhythmically complex and sound-sensitive contexts. Michel Godard also uses the bass guitar; a harmonious extra totally in the spirit of flexibility of Renaissance musicians and the liberties that they took. - The recordings for "A Serpent's Dream" were made during the festival in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, where the ensemble performed in the Chapelle des Pénitents noirs built in the mid-17th century. The magic of the place seems to flow into the music, as so often is the case in the concerts and productions of Michel Godard. For "Miserere", Godard used an historic manuscript preserved in the Chapel, and he plays the imaginatively decorated original serpent preserved over the centuries of the Chapelle des Pénitents noirs on two tracks ("Old Black Snake Blues" and "Le sommeil").