Legendary artist and chess player Marcel Duchamp with composer and music theorist John Cage, in a unique installation of art and music played on a hybrid chess board / musical instrument called "Reunion".
The original chess board instrument was designed by Lowell Cross and used sixteen audio inputs connected to eight speakers surrounding the audience in the hall. The squares of the chessboard acted as switches by way of photoresistors, which were activated whenever a particular square was covered or uncovered via the movement of the pieces.
Reunion premiered in 1968 in Toronto, when Cage played against Duchamp, who had taught Cage the game himself. Duchamp, of course, was Master strength and had competed alongside Alexander Alekhine for the French Olympiad team in the 1930s, so he won the game in short order despite giving Cage knight odds. Unfortunately, there is no record of the moves, nor any film or video recording. But, in any case, it was the resulting sound generated by the game that was most fascinating.
It was avant-garde in its day and still feels novel in digital recreation today.
Pictured: Duchamp and John Cage at the Ryerson Theatre in Toronto, March 5, 1968 | Photo: Eldon Garnet
Toi & moi by Zaho & Mok Saib [lyrics and full english translation]
In many of the lyrics you can find on the internet, the arabic part of this song is translated as literal gibberish or erased. I was so outraged that i translated it myself ('cause i wanted to know what it said too). Please don't hesitate to correct me, although i guess nobody is gonna see this, but now i know it's out there at least.
why am i doing this i am nothing more than a poor fanfic author lol the audacity to tranlsate from arab without knowing the lenguage too. anyway.
Toi & Moi
You and me
VERSE
Raconte-moi, c'est vrai ou pas?
Tell me, is it true or not?
Notre histoire est finie, bébé, à cause de moi
Our story is over, baby, because of me
J'suis resté ici, ne m'en veux pas
I stayed here, don't blame me
J'ai du mal à accepter vu qu'j'serai loin de toi
I can't take it* since I'll be away from you
Note: [I find it hard to accept] since I'll be away from you
T'es rentrée dans ma vie, ouh-ouh
You came into my life, whoo-hoo
T'as comblé le vide, yeah
You filled the void, yeah
Tu m'as fait que rêver, nan
You only made me dream, nah
Bébé والفتك c'est vrai
Baby you're lethal, it's true
PRE-CHORUS
Ah ouais, ah ouais
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Ma belle, j'voulais juste prendre ta main et m'envoler
My love*, I just wanted to take your hand and fly away
Note: (it says "ma belle", which would mean "my beautiful").
T'as oublié
You forgot
Que j't'ai jamais abandonnée et tu le sais
That I never left you and you know it
CHORUS
عمري ولي، علاش رانا نديروا هكدا؟
My life, why are we doing this?
كنا بيخير، العدو اللي جا بيناتنا
We were fine, an enemy came between us
ما زال l’amour معاك نتي، c’est pas fini
Still, (my) love is with you, it's not over
Que toi et moi, on s’barre de là
For you and I, we’re getting out of here
عمري ولي، علاش رانا نديروا هكدا؟
My life, why are we doing this?
كنا بيخير، العدو اللي جا بيناتنا
We were fine, an enemy came between us
ما زال l’amour معاك نتي، c’est pas fini
Still, (my) love is with you, it's not over
Que toi et moi, on s’barre de là
For you and I, we’re getting out of here
VERSE
Est-ce que c'est vrai tout c'qu'on m'a dit?
Is it true what I've heard?
À c'qu'il paraît, tu aurais même refait ta vie
They say you've even remade your life
Dis-moi qu'c'est faux, qu'j'me fais des films
Tell me it's not true, I'm raving
On était beaux mais ils nous ont jetés la عين
We were beautiful but they threw us the evil eye*
Note: the evil eye, عَيْن (ʕayn) often signifies what is regarded as the injurious and damaging supernatural effects of jealousy and envy.
À l'amour, à la vie, ha-yah
To love, to life, ha-yah
On s'était promis, ha-yah
We promised each other, ha-yah
J'ai le cœur déchiré, haya-yah
I'm heartbroken, haya-yah
Ai qu'mes yeux pour pleurer, ha-yah
I can only cry now*, ha-ya
Notes: [I've only got my eyes to cry with], ha-yah
PRE-CHORUS
Ah ouais, ah ouais
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Ma belle, j'voulais juste prendre ta main et m'envoler
My love*, I just wanted to take your hand and fly away
T'as oublié
You forgot
Que j't'ai jamais abandonnée et tu le sais
That I never left you and you know it
CHORUS
عمري ولي، علاش رانا نديروا هكدا؟
My life, why are we doing this?
كنا بيخير، العدو اللي جا بيناتنا
We were fine, an enemy came between us
ما زال l’amour معاك نتي، c’est pas fini
Still, (my) love is with you, it's not over
Que toi et moi, on s’barre de là
For you and I, we’re getting out of here
عمري ولي، علاش رانا نديروا هكدا؟
My life, why are we doing this?
كنا بيخير، العدو اللي جا بيناتنا
We were fine, (until) an enemy came between us
ما زال l’amour معاك نتي، c’est pas fini
Still, (my) love is with you, it's not over
Que toi et moi, on s’barre de là
For you and I, we’re getting out of here
OUTRO
ولي ليا، ولي ليا، راني مغبون
Oh my God, oh my God, I hurt*
Note: مغبون can mean aggrieved, sad, sick, tired, pained.
ولي ليا، ولي ليا، ما جاني نوم
Oh my God, oh my God, I didn't get any sleep
ولي ليا، ولي ليا، راني مغبون
Oh my God, oh my God, I hurt
Que toi et moi, on s'barre de là
You and I, we’re getting out of here
Notes: "Que toi et moi" literally means "that you and I". The "que" can mean many things depending on context, so it's translated differently on the outro.
