creation : Percussion Festival of Taipei, 1996 (Taïwan)
commission : Les Percussions de Strasbourg
musicians : 6 percussionists, without instruments, with voice
duration : 4’
It was on the occasion of the Percussion Festival in Taipei, and after having given a recital, that the percussionists friendly expressed to Jean-Pierre Drouet their wish for a piece to be performed at the end of the performance. Following this, Jean-Pierre Drouet composed Bis, a short piece intended for the Percussions de Strasbourg, involving the percussionists with their bodies and voices as their only instruments, taking turns performing gestures and onomatopoeia. The idea was to make a radical break with what the audience usually hears during their concerts. Since then, this piece has been performed many times, and even today the percussionists still choose to perform it when the atmosphere seems favourable and the show allows it.
An Bis full of humour…