Christine Ott

French musician (born 1963)

Classical crossover
avant-garde
experimental
free improvisation
art music
contemporary classical

Occupations

Musician
composer

Instruments

Ondes Martenot
piano
keyboards
vocals

Years active1995–presentLabelsGizeh Records, Nahal RecordingsWebsitechristineott.fr

Musical artist

Christine Ott (born 10 August 1963)^[1] is a French pianist, vocalist, ondist,^[2] and composer.

She was a member of Yann Tiersen's band for eight years and played in classical orchestras for ten. She has collaborated with Tindersticks, Syd Matters, and Jean-Philippe Goude.

Ott has released four solo albums: Solitude Nomade in 2009, Only Silence Remains in 2016,^[3] Chimères (pour Ondes Martenot) in 2020^[4] and Time to Die in 2021. She also composed the soundtrack for F. W. Murnau's Tabu^[5] in 2016. She has created several live soundtracks shows, including for Lotte Reiniger's movies and Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North.

Ott formed the duo Snowdrops with Mathieu Gabry in 2015. Together, they composed the original score for Manta Ray, by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng,^[6] and in 2020, they released the album Volutes, on Injazero Records. The Guardian selected the release among its ten best contemporary discs of 2020, writing, "what's remarkable is how radically different Christine Ott manages to make the ondes sound on each track: from a primeval, guttural sound on the 13-minute Odysseus to a chirruping boy soprano on Ultraviolet."^[7]

Discography

Solo works

2009 Solitude Nomade
2016 Only Silence Remains
2016 Tabu
2020 Chimères (pour Ondes Martenot)
2021 Time to Die

Snowdrops

2020 Volutes
2021 Inner Fires

As guest or session musician

2004 Tout sera comme avant by Dominique A
2004 Contre le centre by Mobiil
2005 Le point de coté by Dominique Petitgand
2005 Plays the Residents by Narcophony
2005 Fragile by Têtes Raides
2008 Aux solitudes by Jean-Philippe Goude
2008 Ghost Days by Syd Matters
2008 A l'attaque by Loïc Lantoine
2008 Ersatz by Julien Doré
2009 The dark age of love by This Immortal Coil
2011 613 by Chapelier Fou
2011 Tels Alain Bashung, Aucun express (Noir Désir)
2012 Everything was story by Raphelson
2013 Ghost Surfer by Cascadeur
2016 Unworks & Rarities by Oiseaux-Tempête
2017 Earth by Foudre! (side-project of Mondkopf, Saåad & Frédéric D. Oberland) ^[8]

with Yann Tiersen

2001 L'Absente
2001 Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
2002 C'était ici
2005 Les retrouvailles
2006 On Tour
2008 Tabarly / Pierre Marcel

Soundtracks

Personal works

2011 La fin du silence by Roland Edzard
2016 Minute Bodies by Stuart Staples, Thomas Belhom and Christine Ott
2018 Manta Ray (film) by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng, with Snowdrops^[9]

Collaborations

2001 Swing / Tony Gatlif
2008 35 rhums / Claire Denis by Tindersticks
2010 Les Salauds by Tindersticks
2011 Claire Denis Film Scores by Tindersticks
2011 Ou va la nuit / Martin Provost by Hughes Tabar-Noval

Ciné-concerts and performances

2012 Tabu
2013 Nanook of the North
2013 24h of a Woman's Life with Michel Druez
2014 Stories & Légends by Lotte Reiniger; "Lotte, mon amour"
2016 Iranian Tales (with Snowdrops)

Classical music

1995 Les trois petites liturgies de la présence divine
1997 Les Adieux by Marcel Landowski
1998 il Mantello, opéra by Luciano Chailly
1999 Ecuatorial by Edgard Varèse
2013 Les Innatendus III (Ed Mickaël, Nocturne ; André Jolivet, Suite Delphique ; Arthur Honegger, Symphonie n°2 pour orchestre à cordes)

Videography

2005 Live with Radiohead
2006 On Tour, Yann Tiersen
2010 Carte blanche to Christine Ott, Neuilly Theater

References

^ "Alsace: Christine Ott, maîtresse des ondes Martenot – L'Alsace". Federation-Martenot.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 April 2018.
^ "Making the Ondes Martnot Speak" Archived 5 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine, on de London philharmonia website, music by Christine Ott
^ Kaill, Gary (13 May 2016). "'Ott's compositions are shadowy and minimal, the melodies subtly sketched, and arrangements given space and light. It makes for a set that rewards repeated listens'". the skinny. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
^ Ingalls, Chris (27 May 2020). "Christine Ott Brings the Ondes Martenot to New Heights with the Mesmerizing 'Chimères'". Popmatters. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
^ Chuter, Jack (15 December 2016). "'Christine Ott's score for F. W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty's 1931 silent film Tabu instigates a particularly profound atmospheric overhaul'". ATTN:magazine. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
^ Batlle, Diego (9 September 2018). "Climatic, minimalist, intoxicating, hypnotic and at times surrealistic in its circular structure, Manta Ray has an unusually seductive capacity for a first film (the musical contribution of the French duo composed of Christine Ott and Mathieu Gabry is also precious)". Otros Cines. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
^ Lewis, John (24 December 2020). "The 10 best contemporary music albums of 2020". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
^ "Foudre! - Video clip excerpt from EARTH soundtrack, live at St Merri Church, Paris, Video by As Human Pattern". vimeo.com. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
^ Kuipers, Richard (7 September 2018). "'Manta Ray is especially well served by the subtle soundscapes created by French duo Christine Ott and Mathieu Gabry'". Variety. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.