TOUCH THE
SOUND
A film by Thomas
Riedelsheimer
Year of production :
2004
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Language: English
Country:
Germany
At the heart of every life form there is rhythm,
Movement, flow, change, renewal and repetition
are all based on rhythm. It is only in rhythm,
that we can experience time. Without vibration,
without oscillation, there is statis. There is
nothin. Stbility and solidity are illusions.
Everything oscillates and vibrates - from the
bridge of steel and concrete, to the energy
shells around an atom. Even colours oscillate at
different frequencies. We recognize and
experience out world through rhuthm. Everything
vbibrates - everything speaks. It is, in essence,
a universe of sound.
Evelyn Glennnie lives in this universe in a way
that almost no one else does. Together with her,
this film dives in to the world of sound and
rhythm - and into the world of our origins.
Hearing images, seeing sound...
Evenly Glennie embarks upon the recording of a
new CD, within the four walls of a vast,
decaying, industrial warehouse. She is the top
classical, solo percussionist in the world - a
role virtually of her own creation; a musician
especially for whom an entire corpus of works has
been written, yet, for this CD the pages of the
score are blank. She sits in this light-filled
space with Fred Frith - the great master of
avant-garde music. together they will create a CD
as an improvisational exploration of sound and
image using the space around them, as well as
their instuments and intuititve talent, they
follow this twin-track route.
Hearing images. Seeing sound.
Accompanying Evelyn on her journey is filmmaker
Thomas Reiedelsheimer - winner of the 2001 German
cinematography pricze, the Golden Gate Award
Grand Prize in San Francisco (2002), the Grand
Prix Montreal (2002) and two German Film Prizes
(best Camera, Best Documentary) in 2003 with
RIVERS AND TIDES - a portrait of sculptor Andy
Goldsworthy, working with time.
The starting point for Thomas's and Evelyn's
journey is the sounds and rhythms that surround
us in everyday life. And from there, the path
delves deeper - sculpting the nature of sound
itself, discovering its genesis and how the
universe depends upon it. Thomas and Evelyn track
the road from breath to heart beat. From silence
to music. From hearing to seeing to feeling. From
fluid vibration to solid matter.
Evelyn's ability to guide this exploration has
little to do with an intimate knowledge of
physics. Evelyn Glennie is profoundly deaf. She
lives in balance between rhythm and matter;
between sound and seeing. Her conversation with
the drums is not so much perceived through the
ears - it is, in fact felt; through every sense
in her body. For her, hearing is a form of touch.
Sound is palpable. The improvised musical
journey, in this warehouse-recording studio,
forms a road map. It becomes the backbone
ofThomas Riedelsheimer's film.
