OULOMENEN, the epic narrative tradition, Asia-Europe

A film by Aurélien Poidevin about the research project led by Francis Biggi, 2018.

The Gunki Monogatari, the great Japanese heroic epics, were structured into vast poetic narratives from the 13th century onwards, at the same time as the tradition of singing chivalric poems in eight hendecasyllables (Cantari in ottava) was taking hold in Italy. Research into declamatory arias in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy and into poetic declamation in contemporary Italian oral tradition shows the persistence of a psalmodic structure comparable to that used to sing Japanese stories. The aim of the research is to examine the evolution, interpretation and reception of these forms from the 14th century to the present day. The project, conceived in collaboration with Kyoto City University of Arts, will confront two experiences that are far removed in time and space but identical in the way they convey values and models of behaviour whose mechanisms are not specific to Italian or Japanese cultures but appear to be universal data of communication.

The project is aimed at performers and researchers interested in exploring the evolution and transmission of musical language and the links between text and music. Composers will find new concepts to explore and integrate into their work.