Gates of Heaven

This recording captures a solo bass saxophone performance in the Gates of Heaven, a small synagogue in Madison, Wisconsin. After an exhaustive recording process elsewhere I visited the synagogue en route to the airport to quickly record a solo piece. The engineer and I had only a couple of hours to capture something before catching our flight home to Montreal. Microphones were set up at varying distances throughout the synagogue and I improvised a solo piece using the acoustics of the space. We had just enough time to record what became an 18 minute multi-tracked piece. Every layer was a first take and a response to the previous.

Director: Guillaume Vallée
Runtime: 18 min
Original Language: en
More Films by Director: Guillaume Vallée

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Gates of Heaven about?
This recording captures a solo bass saxophone performance in the Gates of Heaven, a small synagogue in Madison, Wisconsin. After an exhaustive recording process elsewhere I visited the synagogue en route to the airport to quickly record a solo piece. The engineer and I had only a couple of hours to capture something before catching our flight home to Montreal. Microphones were set up at varying distances throughout the synagogue and I improvised a solo piece using the acoustics of the space. We had just enough time to record what became an 18 minute multi-tracked piece. Every layer was a first take and a response to the previous.
Who directed Gates of Heaven?
Gates of Heaven was directed by Guillaume Vallée.
How long is Gates of Heaven?
Gates of Heaven has a runtime of 18m (18 minutes).