The Midnight Verdict - Le Verdict de minuit
“The Midnight Verdict” connects New Music composers from Ireland, France and Hungary in an exploration of one of the great works of Classical mythology: Orpheus and Eurydice. At the initiative of Hungarian guitarist and researcher Katalin Koltai, in collaboration with French ensemble Ars Nova and the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland, “The Midnight Verdict” brings together composers Deirdre McKay (Ireland), Benoît Sitzia (France) and Gregory Vajda (Hungary), each drawing on an episode from the story of Orpheus, in its translation by the Irish poet and Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney.
Their collaboration is brought to life through the unusual and evocative sounds of Katalin Koltai's Ligeti Guitar - featuring the artist's own innovative mechanism which augments the standard range of a classical guitar - with Franco-Iranian santourist Farnaz Modarresifar, and ensemble Ars Nova.
"The Midnight Verdict" premiered in May 2025 at TAP-Scène nationale de Grand Poitiers in France. The project is supported by Diaphonique, the French-British-Irish Fund for Contemporary Music.
The santur became a sort of surprise revelation in a way because yes, I understood it was to have this kind of aspect of ancient and modern. What struck me was that it had a lot of resonances with Irish traditional music. The whole ensemble of pieces is bathed in this gorgeous lighting and I thought of it as being almost like a dance between the lighting, the music, and the visible and invisible text.
Deirdre McKay, composer.
The myth of Orpheus explores themes that are still relevant today: love, loss, loneliness but also the confrontation between the individual and the collective. Traditional, folk and contemporary instruments all speak the same language, as with the story of Orpheus - it's universal.
Katalin Koltai, soloist, member of the artistic team.
Programme
Improvisation for santur
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Le Verdict de minuit / The Midnight Verdict
1 - Orphée et Eurydice / Orpheus and Eurydice - Benoît Sitzia
2 - Le Verdict de minuit / The Midnight Verdict - Deirdre McKay [commissioned with funds from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland]
3 - La mort d’Orphée / The Death of Orpheus - Gregory Vajda
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Orpheus Songs (pour/for Ligeti Guitar) - Benoît Sitzia
Cast and Creative Team
Ars Nova Ensemble
Pierre-Simon Chevry, flute
Éric Lamberger, clarinet
Cédric Bonnet, horn
Isabelle Cornélis, percussion
Catherine Jacquet, violin
Benoît Morel, viola
Isabelle Veyrier, cello
with
Farnaz Modarresifar, santur
Katalin Koltai, Ligeti Guitar
Conductor: Gregory Vajda
Artistic Team: Katalin Koltai, Gregory Vajda, Benoît Sitzia
Texts and Scenography: Benoît Sitzia
Lighting Design: Jérôme Deschamps
Photography: Stéfanie Molter, Ars Nova Ensemble.
Video: Recorded at TAP in May 2025. Filming and editing by Pierre Galecki - Mouton Production, directed by Stéfanie Molter - ensemble Ars Nova.
Poster design: Nadia Diz Grana
Texts
Inspired by "The Midnight Verdict", Seamus Heaney
Co-Production
ensemble Ars Nova / Ars Nova Ensemble
CMC - Contemporary Music Centre – Ireland
TAP - Scène nationale de Grand Poitiers
Partners
DIAPHONIQUE, Franco-British-Irish Fund for contemporary music
Sacem / La culture avec la copie privée
Arvo Pärt Center – Estonia
BIAF - Belfast International Arts Festival
