La Nuit du Meccano Thursday 22nd November 2007 £7/£6 members & concessions Doors 7pm 1st Performance 8pm 2nd Peformance 10pm Pierre Bastien has built an 80-piece mechanical orchestra from MECCANO pieces, the component parts of which (arranged in sections) 'play' a range of acoustic instruments. Pierre is at turns conductor and soloist, selecting which of his mechanical creations will play each piece, as well as taking centre stage himself at times, showing off still further his virtuosic musical skills. All thie intricacies of this wondrous automatic orchestra are captured by a video camera and projected onto a screen behind the ensemble Pierre Bastien has achieved world recognition and respect, artists as diverse as musician Robert Wyatt and designer Issey Miyake have worked alongside Pierre and Mecanium. Fellow composer Michel F Côté describes Mecanium as A timeless sounding orchestra, both futuristic and slightly dada, conjuring ancient traditions in its surprisingly sensuous music... The musicians of his orchestra are machines, and the idea behind it is simple, efficient and poetic: to have traditional instruments such as Chinese lute, Morrocan bender and Javanese saron, koto, violin and sanza played by a mechanical instrument made of meccano pieces and recycled turntable motors. PLEASE NOTE: BOOKING RECOMMENDED BUY TICKETS HERE BUY CONCESSION TICKET HERE WE CAN NOT SELL TICKETS ON THE PHONE For more information: www.pierrebastien.com www.fertilizerfestival.com