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| Clarinetist Fie Schouten's 'Open Space' Out on Relative Pitch  The new album Open Space by bass clarinetist Fie Schouten and her international ensemble, consisting of Vincent Courtois on cello, Sofia Borges on drums and actor Pierre Baux, is inspired and structured by the iconic 1974 book Espèces d'espaces (“Species of Spaces”) by French writer Georges Perec.In Espèces d'espaces, Georges Perec explores humanity's relationship with everyday and extraordinary living environments, each time from a different spatial perspective. The book's chapters address progressively larger living spaces: from the bed to the room, the flat, the apartment building, the street, the city, the country, the world, and the universe. The musical narrative follows the book's chapters. Schouten selected fragments to create a dramaturgical arc with contrasting elements: lying horizontally on a bed, the bustle of the street, philosophizing in a café where the letter "to her" still remains unwritten, through to the immeasurability of the universe. Through choices in instrumental combinations, the selection of specific clarinets, the design of textures, and the use of harmony, the different spaces with their distinct emotional charges come to life. Bass clarinetist Fie Schouten is known as an interpreter of composed music, and develops her own projects in improvised music, in which literature plays an important role. Schouten has been collaborating for several years with the lyrical French cellist Vincent Courtois. write your comments about the article :: © 2026 Jazz News :: home page |