Customized music for Equestrian Vaulting by Henry Benoit.

Music from equestrian vaulting by Henry Benoit

What are the ingredients for moving people to tears on a freestyle jump? To succeed in aerobatics, you need to be a good gymnast, a good rider, a good dancer or even a good actor in one way or another. All these ingredients come together to please your sight. But your sense of hearing is just as powerful: the magic touch that gives you goose bumps watching a freestyle is the soaring music.

Who is Henry Benoit?

Henry Benoit is a French composer and producer. He discovered acrobatics after meeting Jacques Ferrari and Compagnie Noroc in Le Mans on his way home to visit his family. Henry has been around horses all his life, since both his parents work in the industry. He had never had the opportunity to see acrobatics before meeting Jacques, and this apparently triggered his interest:

"Since then, I've had a real passion for this discipline!"

Henry has already worked with the Noroc team on "Envol", the Lütisburg team on "Water", the LAVEC team on "We are one", and Anna Cavallaro on "The Wolf" to create tailor-made music for equestrian vaulting . All have a unique style: cinematic, sensitive and versatile.

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"Music is my full-time job, I mainly do composition and production work as well as running a label. I love working in different areas of the music industry, because I never get tired of my work. Composing for equestrian vaulting is really refreshing."

Henry works on two different software packages: Logic Pro X and Ableton Live.

"They each allow me to do different things. Logic is really good for orchestral arrangements, while Ableton is in my opinion a better tool for working with sound effects. I can import the video of the routine into my software and compose the music there, just as I would for a film! "

Henry is generally inspired by the emotions that the acrobats try to convey through their routine and the theme they choose, of course:

"Everyone has a different story to tell, and sometimes those stories come from a personal experience they've had or the path they've taken in the sport. The aesthetics of jumping alone already provide a lot of emotion, and the music reinforces that."

The creative process

If you're curious about how he creates fluttering music from scratch, here's the secret formula: you can first provide a few musical references you've practiced with. This would give him an idea of the musical and artistic dynamics of the performance. Henry is very good at guiding outfielders in their creative process: as he says himself, sometimes the references they've practiced with have nothing to do with what they're really after. In such cases, he likes to construct a kind of "mood board", with ideas for colors, sensations or textures that emanate from the performance.

Once the artistic direction or theme has been agreed, he'll need a video of your routine, either on the horse or on the barrel.
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"I almost always start by sitting down at the piano and trying to come up with a melody and harmonies. Based on the video of the routine I receive, I can plan a structure for the music and know where to incorporate the dynamic and quieter parts. Once I've completed the first version of the music, I'll meet with the outfielders and finalize it."

After getting a glimpse of the way he works to create aerobatic music, we were also curious about his vision of our discipline and his artistic maturity:

"I think the discipline has evolved a lot artistically. From the costumes to the themes to the choreography around the technical component of the sport. There's a real story that can be told during the performance. Even though there's a competitive aspect to aerobatics, I'm always very pleased to see how much artistic innovation is welcomed in the discipline!"

I love equestrian vaulting It's great to see that some artists have fallen in love with our sport and are helping to make it more and more professional. We absolutely need people to help us tell great stories, and music is the best way to achieve this. We hope you'll be inspired for the coming season, and we look forward to hearing some interesting compositions, hopefully. By the way, for those wondering who might be next on Henry's list, we've spotted a few names that would certainly be a perfect match:

"I would love to work with new aerialists interested in developing more of the artistic side of the sport. Since watching the performances at the FEI™ 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, I'd love to be able to work with Lambert Leclezio and Kristina Boe one day. Plus, I know Jamie Hocking is already making music, and is already making music, and I'd be really curious to see what might come out if we ever worked together!"

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Right?

"Without music, life would be a mistake".

Friedrich Nietzsche

_{Source: Vaulting World}

_{Original article: https://www.vaultingworld.com/vaulting-music/}