Dedicated to Devy Erly

Creation by Guy Comentale during the Musicora 1996 show

Duration : approx. 11'. Editions Lemoine

Evoke in a whimsical and light way what is most tragic in human destiny

In the film by Luchino Visconti  Death in Venice, there is a very singular scene which could be the illustration of this Fantasy  : that of a group of grimacing popular musicians, breaking in through the back door of the Grand Hôtel des Bains. These musicians play while laughing with all their dirty teeth, in a half grotesque, half serious way ; chased away by the butler, they make a false exit which creates absolute unease : this supremely disturbing sneer is felt as the announcement of the death of Gustav Aschenbach blinded by his mad passion for the young teenager Tadzio.

In the Middle Ages, grimacing death is often depicted playing the violin, emphasizing the ambivalence of human destiny : life (wandering/madness) and death (creaking), thematic abundantly described and illustrated by Sébastien Brant in his famous book La nef des fous.

This ambivalence structures the form of this Fantasy, always changing in character, very fragmented, and which is heard as a sort of summary of violin gestures.