The garden is at once the world’s smallest plot and the whole world. Ancient cultures paid special attention to the poetry hidden in this small space surrounded by walls. The Persians, in fact, referred to it as pairidaeza, which gave rise to the word "paradise". The inextricable nature of gardens is limited and conditioned by human hands, and has much in common with the artistic creation process: far from subordinating their works to their person or will, the good gardener and the good creator must be familiar with the space, the species, the seasons and use this knowledge to allow the space to reach its full aesthetic potential.
In this interdisciplinary concert, which enters into dialogue with the space designed by the Takk architecture studio, the performing arts and dance, Herlop will speak to us of artistic creation: through the image of the garden, the spectator can approach the apparently esoteric activity of synthesising a work of art from a new angle. Contrary to cryptic concepts often associated with the creative process, such as inspiration and talent, which lead us to see the artist as a type of idol or genius, the creator of this show pursues a view of creation related to perseverance, study, practice and dedication.
Born in the Catalan town of Piera, the composer and pianist Marina Herlop studied classical piano at Badalona Professional Music Conservatory. In this period, Herlop started to compose her own music, with the piano and her voice as her only tools, and to experiment both harmonically and melodically. When she had enough songs, she recorded what would become her first album, Nanook (Instrumental Records, 2016), under the patronage of the Anglo-Spanish pianist James Rhodes. On her second album, Babasha (Aloud Music Ltd, 2018), she added electronic textures and effects to her compositions, which introduced her to the world of electronic music.
She then started to use electronic tools to compose and started to get involved in musical production and use synthesisers and sampling. This led to her third album, which is yet to be released because of COVID-19. This new album acts as a counterpoint to her previous two albums in that she switches the focus of her experimentation to rhythm and timbre and works with riffs, beats and vocal harmonisation. However, what defines Marina Herlop is not the tools she uses, but her willingness to project music into the future and find innovative, attractive formulas. It is this aim that has guided her creative process from the very start and has lent aesthetic coherence to her entire oeuvre.
Now, the artist is testing out her skills in hybridising music and theatre, collaborating with the Takk architectural production space on the first performance of the Escenes cycle at L'Auditori as part of the 2021 Grec Festival. This year's theme and title of the cycle, which was chosen to foster creation, is Women and Creation and includes shows featuring artists such as Alba Pujol, the audiovisual artist Tanit Plana, and Marina Herlop.
A Grec 2021 Festival de Barcelona and L'Auditori co-production.
Music director, vocals, piano and keyboards: Marina Herlop Space designers: Takk (Mireia Luzárraga + Alex Murillo) Bass: Òscar Garrobé Percussion: Toni Llull Vocals, ipad and keyboards: Marta Torrella, Helena Ros Choreographers and movement directors: Laia Duran, Lorena Nogal Stage director: Roger Vila Assistant director and dramaturgy: Mariona Ibáñez Lighting designer: Guillem Bonfill Costume designer: Kiala Kanzi, Anjana Berger and Guillem Estevan, stylism and jewelry Producer: Laura Viñals
