David Knotts - Grimm Tales (2015)

I. Once upon a time
II. Lost in the forest
III. Chase!
IV. My Mother killed me, my Father ate me
V. Spin
VI. Betrothed

When a new complete edition of the original folk and fairy tales of the brothers Grimm was published last year, I was captivated by the ghoulish and macabre sensibility of the original tales which has so often sanitized and censored by past generations of translators and publishers. The stark and simple tale telling of Grimm’s originals inspired these 6 pieces.

In Once upon a time, I imagine the reader opening the book before we become Lost in the forest in which a walking motif is interrupted by twittering bird song. This uncertain walk through the woods takes a rather panicky turn in Chase!, a virtuoso moto perpetuo. When we eventually return home, things take a turn for the worse: we’re chopped up, boiled in the pot and served for tea. Spin is dedicated to all the gnomes, elves and downtrodden beauties who spend their lives at the spinning wheel and Betrothed is for those who make it to the end of the tale, meet their handsome prince and live happily ever after.