Chorus is a choreographic piece by Mickaël Phelippeau for 24 singers of a choir composed of six sopranos, six altis, six tenors and six basses. This piece is an ensemble movement which questions the antique choir an its codes. In order to abstract ourselves from it , the piece dissects Bach's chorale Nicht so traurig, nicht so sehr for fun, through musical and choreographic principles, and then in a free and uncomplicated way. Chorus is built in the form of round trips on the stage to offer 24 different interpretations of this same song.

In this line, the principle of Mini-Chorus is to keep questioning the mobility of a choir, but this time through children's voices and bodies. A children's choir is a vocal ensemble with equal voices, in which there is no distinction between high and low voices. The tessituras are close indeed, young boys not having molted yet. This accentuates its ephemeral aspect.

The challenge is therefore to reconstruct this piece with, among other things, this new parameter, as the musical sections cannot be the same as in a version with adults. Through Mini-Chorus, it will be a question of re-creation. In order to do this, the work will be carried out in partnership with either a children's choir school, a conservatory or a class with a flexible timetable. This will imply an investment over the year of the supervising teacher(s). The presence of one of the choristers of the original piece, Renaud Mascret, will be essential for the transmission of the score in its different variations. Similarly, regular work with Mickaël Phelippeau, choreographer and author of the piece, Marcela Santander, assistant on the creation, or Clarisse Chanel, rehearsal director, will be necessary for the choreographic and dramaturgical follow-up and adaptation. In total, about fifteen days of rehearsals will have to be organised with the company, outside of working hours with the supervising teachers.

The work has already been carried out in Brest. The referent teacher was Laure Leyzour, conductor of the choir in the first version of Chorus and professor at the conservatory with a singing class for children. The work could therefore be followed over a whole season on a weekly basis.

• Mickaël Phelippeau

This project has been presented for the first time in may 2017 at Le Quartz, scène nationale de Brest in the frame of festival Les Humanités.