The espérou is an odd percussion instrument created expressly to realize the `Cinq pieces`. Percussionist Francoise Rivalland and cellist Elena Andreyev collaborated with Sylvian Ravasse on a zither-like contraption with metal rods which, when pushed into its wooden body, cause sympathetic strings to vibrate. (They can also be bowed or plucked.) Rivalland characterizes the instrument as a `sick cello.` It whistles and whines like a squeaky door complementing the cello’s harmonics.
The espérou is an odd percussion instrument created expressly to realize the `Cinq
pieces`. Percussionist Francoise Rivalland and cellist Elena Andreyev collaborated with
Sylvian Ravasse on a zither-like contraption with metal rods which, when pushed into its
wooden body, cause sympathetic strings to vibrate. (They can also be bowed or plucked.)
Rivalland characterizes the instrument as a `sick cello.` It whistles and whines like a
squeaky door complementing the cello’s harmonics.