Composed of the French violinist Fay Guiffo and the pianist Chris Lyons, From The Labyrinth brings the lost tradition of classical music improvisation back to life. They push the boundaries of the ritualised experience of the concert hall, exploring the evocative power of movement and words, immersing their audience into a lively and poetic space.
Born in France, Fay Guiffo began her music education learning the violin from an early age. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance (Paris, 2018) and a Master’s degree in Music Education at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow, 2021). Fay currently works as a freelance performer for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Creative Learning program). She is the co-creator of the music films Queen of Hearts and Spanish Dance which were saluted by various festivals (Women of the Lens Film Festival, Amsterdam Filmmakers Festival, Screen Power Film Festival, International Music Video Awards, Red Movie Award). Fay currently lives in Edinburgh.
Chris Lyons is a Scottish-Irish multi-instrumentalist, composer and teacher. He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and is an in-demand freelance composer and performer. Chris is a prize-winning composer, having won the Broadcast Music Incorporated prize for composition and has composed for BAFTA nominated films. He has worked regularly as an orchestrator and repetiteur with a number of well known ensembles. Chris is also a highly regarded jazz musician and plays a number of unusual string instruments such as oud, saz and bayan accordion. Chris is a particular specialist in classical improvisation, pastiche composition and forgotten and unusual parts of keyboard mastery.
Our work is the return of a lost tradition, a call for bringing back to life what was once was, but born anew for these times. From Bach to Liszt, classical musicians and famous composers would play spontaneous music to their audience, improvising upon themes or conjuring entire pieces into being in the moment. It was once expected that all great performers or composers were also improvisers. Our project 'From The Labyrinth' brings this tradition back to life but in a new way. Incorporating music, movement, words, theatricality and a sense of the mysterious and of the divine, we create a completely unique concert experiences in which every moment is suffused with new creation and new worlds and possibilities dance in the instance of imagining.
