Can the captivating spell of rhythm be unleashed without music? Well, with all due respect, to passionate musicians everywhere, the answer is yes, especially if beautifully colored light is allowed to play unfettered on a majestic cathedral against the night sky.
Those who walked down the Place de la Cathédrale during a recent three-day festival, were reminded of this each night when they passed the six-century-old Strasbourg Cathedral. The towering (32.6 meter high) church enchanted all with its intimate flow of colors and movement that played out on its surface.
The emotions aroused by the building’s visual dance was done without music, as the city elected not to map the cathedral’s lighting. For Daniel Knipper, the designer who created this powerful panorama, working without music, was, in many respects, a liberating thing. “It enabled me to find a freedom of rhythm, and therefore to propose pauses that really allow the facade to be seen in way that is impossible in a 12-minute mapped show.
“Interestingly, my first years on the Cathedral were without music!” continued Knipper.
“The main idea was for the Cathedral to become part of the evening’s daily routine, no longer the object of a spectacular moment, but rather to share a moment of intimacy with the passer-by, who was no longer pressed into the crowd.”
Knipper used 24 CHAUVET Professional Ovation Rêve E-3 IP LED ellipsoidals in his transformative design. The full-spectrum color-mixing fixtures, which were supplied by XEOS, were hung on two porticos that flanked the facade, ten units on each side. This arrangement allowed Knipper to highlight the architectural details of the façade by creating gobos based on digital photos.
“This was a form of ‘analog mapping,’ as a friend of mine put it,” said Knipper. “The rest of the front lighting was made up of high-powered moving heads. (Animation was provided by Eurométropôle.) Most of the light was distributed over the building’s balconies and interiors. As the project was to highlight Strasbourg Cathedral, my idea was to work across the street with a minimum of structure and a minimum of floor space.”
The Ovation Rêve E-3 IP was selected for its role in the project after considerable evaluation.
“I wanted to achieve a good quality projected image, with a good distribution of light,” explained Knipper. “I also wanted to work with a product that would allow me to mix colors with the rest of the installation, while respecting the illuminated surface.
“I was looking for an IP-rated LED alternative,” he continued. There wasn’t much choice on the market. I had previously tested five or six LED ellipsoidals at Agence Culturelle Grand Est in Sélestat to establish a comparison. My test criteria were first and foremost the mechanical and optical quality of the device. The Rêve E-3s passed these tests without a hitch: sharpness (on gobos, there’s no cheating), the robustness of handle and clamp, weight, a precision of adjustment –with architectural gobos at 50m, 1mm counts.”
Then, especially important was the Ovation Rêve E-3’s color rendering capabilities “The quality of the colors generated, especially the yellows, was very important,” said Knipper. “The tests were carried out on a full-scale. The cathedral is built in pink sandstone , which makes it challenging to manage in terms of synthesis between color and the highly absorbent material. Finally, there is the question of light output. The 140m point was excellent in all tests.”
Once again, this year, the illuminated Cathedral welcomed Strasbourgeois and visitors alike in its dreamlike suit of light , providing the audience with an opportunity to opportunity to appreciate the building’s architectural beautify from a new perspective. For Knipper, the planning and effort put into this project was well worth it. There was, as he puts it, “a touching benevolence” at the cathedral as people stopped for a long moment gaze at the building. They stood near the lighting console, which was set up in the middle of the street. When they did, they made it a point to thank the design team.
Knipper quotes the late 19th century poet Edmond Rostand who wrote, “It is beautiful to believe in light at nighttime.” Those who gathered round the lighting console during the festival evenings, knew exactly what he meant.
