photograph by Marc Brome

In the summer of 1950, the South African composer Priaulx Rainier notated the rhythms made by the hammers and chisels of sculptor Barbara Hepworth and her two assistants (John Wells & Denis Mitchell) as they worked at her studio in St Ives. Sophie Bowness, Barbara Hepworth’s granddaughter, gave Rainier’s rhythmic sketches to Douglas Young who set them to music for performances at TATE St IVES and has now reworked them for dance.

Le Chant des Pierres is a journey in and around the sculptures of Barbara Hepworth and Douglas Young’s score The Rhythm of the Stones. It is a dynamic play between inner tensions, rhythm and equilibrium.

The music is played by Chris and Celia Redgate (oboes & flutes) and recorded by Andrew Post (VIF Records) with sincere thanks to David Fanshawe (for use of Bell-rock recordings), Sophie Bowness and the Rainier Estate.

Joëlle Pappas directs Tac-au-Tac Dance Theatre and can be contacted by email

first shown as part of the Solos Project January 2008