Amazing guitar trip
Solo concert, Michel Gentils.
Chet ATKINS and Marcel DADI admired Michel's music, Graeme ALLWRIGHT joined him in a duet along part of his musical path.
12 string master-player, Michel conceived and published the very first specific method in 2012.
In the past he has stayed and played in the USA and India, and owes much to Ali DéDé Altinas, Turkish master of musical improvisation..
The Veena-Guitar, a prototype twin-necked instrument inspired by the sonorities of Indian music, was an original creation of Michel’s imagination!
Technical details
Michel Gentils plays :
- Guitars : 6 and 12 string
- Indian Guitar
- Veena-guitar (double-necked)
- Baritone guitar
- Guimbarde (aka Jew’s Harp, Hungary, India)
CONCERTS
""It’s hard to stick a label on Michel GENTILS’ music. He has total mastery of the sonority of the instrument, an emotion fit to move mountains, and quite breathtaking technical skill.""
Marcel DADI
"In a constant quest for perfection, he manages to make his music accessible to all whilst ushering his audience
into a world of pure sound."
LE BATEAU FEU, Scène nationale de Dunkerque
Le duo de Michel Gentils et Samuel Cattiau
Samuel Cattiau on vocals:
- Countertenor
- Baritone
Michel Gentils on:
- Guitars: 6 and 12 strings
- Baritone Guitar
- Guitar-sitar
Full presentation
Since humanity has existed, music has existed. It crosses all borders, even our imaginary limits. Rooted in ancestral traditions , the Invisible Note invites us on an inner journey, it is a door to our sensitive chords. Michel Gentils and Samuel Cattiau take a look at ancient texts that have become musical heritage. Performers and composers, they offer a modern reading of a repertoire that has crossed the cultures of the West and the Levant . French, English, Irish, Italian songs, songs from the Americas, mountain songs, songs of praise, songs of travel and journeys of song, it is a whole heritage that continues to live. The Invisible Note is perhaps the "angels' share" in music?
“Listening carefully to sounds is an expansion of consciousness”
Yegor Reznikof
“Music connects the visible world with the invisible world.”
Indian proverb
Tenzin
A co-production by Moulin du Roc, Scène Nationale de Niort, direction and lighting by Sylvain Gauthier , and Patrick Devernoix responsible for video and graphic performance elements. Video, scenery, lighting and
performances graphics by the "la Compagnie eliXir".
"Tenzin", is a forename of a Tibetan friend of Michel's, head of the dancers of the "Dhrama school" which was founded by the Dalaï Lama to preserve Tibetan artistics traditions after the Chinese invasion. Just as the artists in the venture are joined by a common spirituality that transcends their individual culture, Tenzin embodies, as primus inter pares, an authentic globalisation bonded by mutual respect. Michel remains at the centre of a mobile set that evolves under the influence of performance graphics brought to life by the Compagnie eliXir, thus magnifying the intention and intensity of his music.
Technical details
Michel Gentils plays :
- Guitars : 6 and 12 strings
- Indian guitar
- Veena-guitar (double-necked)
- Guimbarde (aka Jew’s Harp, Hungary, India)
- Isoka (clay flute of Incaïc origin)
- Fujura (large harmonic flute from Slovakia)
Photo par Thierry Boucher, montage vidéo Patrick Aujard
Intui'sons
This is a musical spectacle that brings together Michel Gentils and Shyamal Maïtra.
A version of the show, developed in partnership with the Jeunesses Musicales de France (JMF), is produced in schools. JMF is a long-established educational venture that encourages and supports young people, especially those from less-privileged backgrounds, to enjoy and actively participate in music. Other adaptations have taken place in the hospital setting, thanks in great part to the Tournesol (sunflower!) Association, active for over 25 years in Paris hospitals’ cancer, Altzheimer, psychiatric, reanimation and bone-marrow transplant wards. It has also benefitted homeless people and others supported by the Red Cross.
The sound environment is vast, a mosaic of elements that intertwine – auditive, momentary, surprising, flawless, formal, improvised…
Poised on the road between East and West, Michel Gentils “chooses to lead” remplace “leads” us away from the beaten track. Shyamal Maîtra, percussionist and composer, left Calcutta (now Kolkata) to travel the world. He has played with many of the greats, from Pierre Boulez to Ravi Shankar.
Together, the Gentils-Maîtra duo invites us to enjoy a rare feast of sound from equally rare instruments.
Exceptional.
Technical details
Michel Gentils plays :
- 12 string guitar
- Guimbardes (aka Jew’s Harp, Hungary, India)
- Ocarinas
Shyamal Maïtra plays :
- Percussion : Ghatam (pot drum), ass’s jawbone.
- Sound sculptures (redolent of Baschet)
Download the lesson file
