Je sens que tu es totalement désespéré
Eric de Clercq
Eric de Clercq’s Je sens que tu es totalement désespéré emerged from a collaborative session with Christophe Roy, where language barriers led to a unique creative process. After long silences and failed communication attempts, Christophe Roy’s remark during one of these moments became the piece’s title, symbolizing the tension and frustration of their interaction.
When Christophe Roy asked me to compose a solo piece for him, a translator was needed to explain what he wanted: at the time, I didn’t speak French, and Christophe only spoke French. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to work with Christophe Roy on certain ideas I had, so I traveled to Paris to meet him. Christophe played the sketches I had brought with me, and we tried to communicate, mostly using hand gestures and a bit of “oui, non, et ça va” from my side. Most of the time, I had no idea what Christophe was trying to explain to me. I made a recording of this work session, and back home, I received help translating Christophe’s words. What eventually became the title was a comment Christophe made after one of the long silences when neither of us knew what to say.First performance: Festival Musique Action 1995, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, Christophe Roy
