“That was when the trap was sprung: beyond the mouth of the crater, the air vibrated continuously—or rather, in a continuous manner that contained several discontinuous ways of vibrating. It was a sound that swelled, then faded, then increased in volume again, and in these modulations, it followed an invisible pattern that stretched out in time like a succession of full and empty intervals. Other vibrations were superimposed on these, sharp and well-separated from one another, yet blending into a drone that sounded now sweet, now bitter. As they countered or accompanied the course of the deeper sound, they created a kind of sonorous circle, field, or domain. My immediate instinct was to escape from that circle and return to the padded denseness, so I slid inside the crater. But in the same instant, Rdix had run up the precipice toward the source of the sound and, before I could hold her back, had gone beyond the mouth of the crater.” – Italo Calvino, COSMICOMICS
“Il Cielo di Pietra” is an odyssey between two worlds: the world of silence, depth, and darkness—the inner world—and the surface, the bustling Earth. It’s a topsy-turvy, fearless, and visionary journey of our Euridice, drawn from the depths of the earth to ascend to the surface and finally witness “the light.” However, our Euridice remains ensnared on the Earth. Inspired by the Orpheus myth and reimagined by Calvino in his work Stone Sky, we embark on a quest for Euridice—that echo of silence from which everything is born, lost in the dense, vibrant, and enchanting world of the surface.
“Il Cielo di Pietra” is a musical, visual, and sonic performance crafted from archival footage from the realm of cinematic experimentation. The music engages in dialogue with the images, while the images are shaped by the music and sound. The result is a journey where narration dissipates and then rediscovers itself within matter, sounds, déjà-vu images, and melodies that feel hauntingly familiar. This multifaceted and primordial material carries its own story, already rich with potential interpretations and readings. The audience is never passive, much like in the early cinema screenings where live music played, a voiceover might suddenly interject, the film could “skip” or catch fire, and the nitrate film material itself took center stage, while narration and music receded into the background. In this way, the film becomes the protagonist, the master of the stage.
“Il Cielo di Pietra” is an audiovisual performance created using archival footage from the field of cinematic experimentation, commissioned by the Swiss festival Alpentoene in 2019. The frames, all sourced from the EYE Film Institute in Amsterdam, were meticulously selected by Cosenude Media Projects from the works of directors such as Segundo de Chomón, Georges Méliès, and JC Mol, who explored colors, special effects, and intricate details with visionary artistry.
In homage to early cinema screenings, where live music accompanied films, where a voiceover could interject, and where films might “skip” or catch fire, this performance is not merely a live accompaniment to a movie. Instead, the visuals become the fourth element performing on stage. The three artists composed the music and the show, amplifying the visionary approach of early film directors; they manipulate the films using modern digital techniques, playing with the degradation that time has wrought upon the film material.
Duo Bottasso & Simone Sims Longo won the “Premio Loano per la musica tradizionale italiana” in 2019.
“Everything began with a button accordion and a violin, playing the traditional music of the Occitan valleys of Italy. Duo Bottasso has grown, studied, and performed with musicians from all over the world, extending the sound of their instruments with electronics, until they met the sound designer Simone Sims Longo. If this is the folk music of the future, we’re looking forward to it.”
As a trio, they performed at MACRO – Museo Arte Contemporanea (Rome), Torino Fringe Festival, Festival Ethnos (Naples), Kalternpop (Bolzano), and Alpentoene (Switzerland).