Anouck Genthon, violin
©Wendy Gaze
aẓǝl, “violin tune” originates from an ethnomusicological research I conducted between 2008 and 2012 in Niger, focusing on Tuareg music. This long immersion allowed me to discover the deeply meaningful sound and use of the anzad, a one-string bowed instrument traditionally played by women. The unique timbre and playing technique of the anzad left a lasting impression on me, resurfacing years later in my own violin sound.It is from this deep-rooted influence that this solo creation emerged — a piece that retraces and extends this lineage, moving from my position as an ethnomusicologist to that of a musician, from the sound of the anzad to that of the violin.
aẓǝl, which has become “my” violin tune, is thus both the result and the continuation of this transmission, shaped through the lens of my own sonic affinities. I began composing this piece using my personal field archives, as an attempt to translate my own memory trace — composing, in turn, a musical form born of these layers and sedimentations.
Coming back in order to move forward.