Un gouffre d'incompréhension
Apr 20, 2023, 06:14 AM
"Whilst any tourist guide to Paris will inevitably point to Sacré Coeur as a ‘top ten must see’ location, both the experience of the visit and the history of the site are worlds away from the grace, beauty and spirituality promised by the online guides.
"To reach Sacré Coeur it is impossible to avoid the crowded tourist markets offering all manner of cheap souvenirs, over priced food and dubious street entertainment. The church itself, whilst being a glorious example of 19th century Romano-Byzantine inspired architecture, is stripped of any real reference to its purpose by the crushing crowds, signage and noise.
"One hundred and fifty years after it was built it’s now a theme park without the flashing lights and rides.
"This sonic portrait is an expression of the visitor experience and the chequered history (full of political revenge, repression, uprising and death) of the site utilising field recordings of the surroundings streets and the grounds of Sacré Coeur, samples of the churches incredible grand pipe organ ( currently in desperate need of repair), a religious mass including grand pipe full choir and sounds of Parisian riots long associated with the site. The echoes of reverence and submission mix chaotically with anarchic voices, forgotten ghosts and the chatter of everyday
travellers searching for authentic experience amongst the mundane reality of the 21st century tourism."
Sacre Coeur reimagined by Mat Ward.
"To reach Sacré Coeur it is impossible to avoid the crowded tourist markets offering all manner of cheap souvenirs, over priced food and dubious street entertainment. The church itself, whilst being a glorious example of 19th century Romano-Byzantine inspired architecture, is stripped of any real reference to its purpose by the crushing crowds, signage and noise.
"One hundred and fifty years after it was built it’s now a theme park without the flashing lights and rides.
"This sonic portrait is an expression of the visitor experience and the chequered history (full of political revenge, repression, uprising and death) of the site utilising field recordings of the surroundings streets and the grounds of Sacré Coeur, samples of the churches incredible grand pipe organ ( currently in desperate need of repair), a religious mass including grand pipe full choir and sounds of Parisian riots long associated with the site. The echoes of reverence and submission mix chaotically with anarchic voices, forgotten ghosts and the chatter of everyday
travellers searching for authentic experience amongst the mundane reality of the 21st century tourism."
Sacre Coeur reimagined by Mat Ward.