A virtuoso of raw force, the composer Jacopo Baboni-Schilingi has a quick hand – one with great élan for applying musical scores to the bare skins of those willing to model the music which he composed for an evening of dining at the Mas de l’Amarine in St. Rémy de Provence under the aegis of the Festival a-part.
Upon decorating nubile women and sinewy men with notes and cords, Mr. Baboni-Schilingi explained that sections – electronically programmed – would be brusque and rude during the serving of the entrées, followed by melodic and dramatic sections during the plat principal. His comments invoked a curious reflection of what wines to marry with the music ( a neighboring table went with a Château Barbanau Côtes de Provence rosé, whereas PVB’s table opted for a young Ventoux red from Domaine Fondreche, La Nature.)
On Thursday evenings in the summer, the Mas de l’Amarine features jazz soirées toned up by a poolside champagne bar and a “grignotage” – small plates and deserts prepared by a pop-up kitchen and a well-studied wine list.
A precocious and protean talent, Jacopo Baboni-Schilingi’s bibliography already takes on textbook proportions. He was virtually born into music, starting piano studies at the age of 6, and began composing at the same age. At the age of 14, he won his first prize of composition, and graduated in contemporary music composition from Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano. In 2010 he obtained a a doctorate in musicology at the Ecole de Hautes Etudes.
He has realized installations with artists Arman and the Miguel Chevalier and he conceived the show/installation Hemera, in collaboration with light artist A. Poumarat. He is at work with the artists Christophe Bergon and Elias Crespin. Since 1999, he holds a class in composition of the Montbéliard Conservatory of Music and lectures in the Department of Contemporary Musicology Paris IV-Sorbonne.
Contact: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, jbs@baboni-schilingi.com, Website
Also showing at the Mas de l’Amarine in the Festival a-apart:
Natalie Luder: Natalie Luder, a Dutch conceptual artist who creates objects of all forms and shapes, with a broad range of colors and tastes, at times humorous, especially food. Website
ACBE (Anne-Catherine Becker-Echivard) A French photographer, ASCB explores the human condition by constructing models herself, one such techinique is replacing human faces with those of fish. Website
Mas de l’Amarine
Each deeply peripatetic by nature, the ebullient couple Alice Monnier & Bernard Coloma set out in 2011 to commingle art, design, luxury and cuisine into a high toned concept called Mas de l’Amarine.
Alice is out of Lausanne Hotel School, then stops in Morocco, Swtizerland and Corsica with a yen for art deco and designer furniture. Chef Bernard’s journey began at the Eden Roc Hotel in St. Bart’s, then onto St. Tropez and the Baléares.
What the Mas de l’Amarine offers is a promise – like the one kids get hooked on when entering an amusement park – that here there is never any chance of feeling discomfort, hunger nor ennui.
Everything about the aesthetically-cool Mas de l’Amarine has an unreal and a retouched almost perfect prettiness – it is really hard to find the right words to describe the feeling of its verdant park, polished modish décor and culinary delights except to say that it envelops you with a picture-book fantasy of unalloyed pleasure.
Ancienne voie Aurélia, 13210 St Rémy de Provence, Tel: 04. 90.94.47.82, Email: contact@mas-amarine.com, Website