Theatre Du Chene Noir D'avignon - Chant Pour Le Delta, La Lune Et Le Soleil (1976)

In PA we have bands or musicians listed in the database. With the addition of Théâtre du Chêne Noir we have a new type of group in PA; A group of actors and musicians forming a theater.
In 1966 when the atmosphere was setting its sails towards the events of 1968, the 19 year old Gérard Gelas forms in Avignon the theater group with his high school mates Daniel Dublet, Gilbert Gay and Bernadette Marini.
Their two first plays Poèmes and L'Homme qui chavire include music and the texts were written by Gelas and the music either composed by the actors or borrowed from compositions by John Coltrane, Ravi Shankar, Pierre Henry and Charles Mingus.

His next endeavour La Paillasse aux seins nus is not allowed to be shown in the district for fear of disturbing the public order. Gelas received the support of several fellow artists and is invited to Rome by Giancarlo Nanni with his group where they meet prominent cultural figures (writer Elsa Morante, director Federico Fellini etc.).

When back in France he continues to write plays - Radio Mon Amour, Vivre Debout, Sarcophage, Marylin and Opération and through those he gains public fame and reputation.

In 1971 the piece Aurora is created and is very successful. It is the shows of July 22nd and 23rd that are recorded and are then released as LP on the label Futura run by Gérard Terronès. The group then consists of Gérard Gelas (direction, drums), Nicole Aubiat (vocals), Bénédicte Maulet (vocals), Pierre Surtel (flutes, saxophone alto and vocals), Guy Paquin (violoncello, trumpet and vocals), Daniel Dublet (guitar, percussions and vocals) and Jean Marie Redon (flute and vocals). This piece is an abstract and free-form composition, narrated, moaned and cried as the text demands it, daring and experimental and avant-garde. The narrator is "The Earth" who gave its children the seas, sun, air and love. But her children have become old and their love has been stolen by bird-men. The music and vocals adapt themselves to the storyline and the experience should have a greater impact if the listener was able to see the play as well as listening to it.

Reassured by their public success, the group then goes on to create their own production through which they will release their next releases, entitled Chêne Noir Disques. It is on this label that they release the next plays; Miss Madona in 1973, Chant pour le delta, la lune et le soleil in 1976 and Orphée 2000 in 1977.

Chant pour le delta, la lune et le soleil is a bit different musically from Aurora, although the same narration (and same persona) is present here as well. There is still the feel and abstract atmosphere of the odd Aurora but the music is more structured here with nice percussions and drumming and reinforced with synthesizers this time and the occasional jazz hints and overall befitting the avant-garde tag.

Since 1977, Gelas has created and adapted numerous plays. Among those are:
Lili Calamboula (1979), La Légende des Mille Taureaux by Yashar Kemal (1984), La barque (1985), Marat-Sade by Peter Weïss (1989), Le café by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1990) , Antigone by Bertolt Brecht (1994), Ode à Canto (1997, la rencontre improbable by Eric Cantona and Antonin Artaud), The Beautiful Vache Folle ou la belle camarguaise (1997), Il était une fois.le Petit Poucet (1998), Lorenzaccio d'Alfred by Musset (1998), Histoire Vécue d'Artaud-Mômo (2000), Effroyables Jardins (2001), Guantanamour (2002), On Ne Badine Pas avec L'Amour by Musset (2005), Contes du Pays des neiges according to Jakata's tales (2006), Le Barbier de Séville by Beaumarchais (2006).
Overall, he has more than 50 plays put up on stage to his record.

The group exists until today and keeps on performing and creating new plays an interpreting older ones. Lead still by Gelas they operate since 1971 from a 12 century chapel in Avignon.

Personnel\Musicians :
Nicole Aubiat - vocals
Thierry Bergerot - synthesizers
Jean-Loius Cannaud - Flute, tenor and alto sax, vocals, percussions
Jean-Pierre Chalon - drums, percussions
Daniel Dublet - piano, violincello, congas
Monik Lamy - vocals, percussions
Philippe Puech - vibraphone, vocals
Christine Schaffter - soprano sax, vocals percussions
Pierre Surtel - sporano sax, vibraphone, vocals
Abel Valls - bass guitar, contrabass