Removing the mask, revealing the true self
There is silence in music. What will we hear if we listen carefully? Do we have the confidence to listen to empty space with an open mind? The task of music is to convey the here and now, space and silence. There is no silence without music.
Using Ingmar Bergman’s black and white drama Persona as a starting point and dressed in black Fifth Avenue outfits, we get to the very core of music, approaching the epicentre of its communicative power and the dialogue that is born when words fail.
May 30; 5.30-6 pm, June 1; 7.15-8.15 pm, June 2; 7-7.30pm, Tornrummet, Dramaten
Admission free
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Musicians: Karin Hellqvist, violin and Adina Rydqvist, cello
Persona is part of a crossover project conducted by young musicians, composers and architects. It is shaped by musical performances in evocative places. The objective is to explore the interaction between artists, audience and space. It was started by musicians Adina Rydqvist and Karin Hellqvist in cooperation with Strata Arkitektur AB, Katarina Lundeberg & Petra Gipp.
What does silence tell us when we listen to it? What can we express through silence? We explore the interaction between audience and artist, space and audience. Perhaps we experience it differently when we communicate through music and space instead of by means of the spoken word?
Persona will be performed at Tornrummet, Dramaten, a strong and minimalistic space that is not normally used for concerts. We try to defy expectations and focus even more on what happens the moment the audience meets the musicians.
Can we remain open-minded when we encounter the music and the space, and unreservedly receive they message communicate?
There is a young generation of composers who react to the world we live in and who convey through their music that which can often not be expressed in words: tenderness, relationships, failure, love and trust.
Outfits from Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair
Fifth avenue shoe repair finds inspiration in conserving tradition as well as breaking norms. In dramatic, black silhouettes the human anatomy is both emphasized and altered.
A constantly ongoing interaction between the both extremes.
Eventail by Magnus Bunnskog (2002/2005)
A young woman hides behind her fan. The way she folds and unfolds it is a whole story in itself – the flick of a wrist, a glance, a furtive smile, waiting for something. It is a dialogue with silence, a transient, sketchy portrait of a woman.
Ukagami by Rei Munakata (2007/2009)
Two ninjas locked in a wild duel, a deadly battle with swords. It is about honour, teamwork, dodging and ducking. It is close combat and a personal interpretation by two women combatants. What happens in between the launches? Does the steel sing or do we hold our breaths? This is the very first performance of a version for violin and cello, commissioned by the Ingmar Bergman Festival.
Utmarker by Esaias Järnegaard (2008)
Like a waste land, arid and obstinate. It is like listening to empty space or the vibrating wire inside a light bulb. Emptiness brings us closer together; we are attracted to each others’ energy like magnets. Listen closely, tightly, to the subtle tonal palette.
Toccatina by Helmut Lachenman (1986)
Toccata: to touch ones instrument. Like the toccatas of Baroque music, this modern classic is a virtuoso fantasy using the most subtle, low and unexpected tones of the violin. The horsehair touches the scroll at the end of the neck; the metal screw on the bow touches a muted string … and all the silences in between.
Navigo by Nils Henrik Asheim (1999)
This is musical navigation, staying on course while keeping in tune with everything that happens around you. “ ... a waiting, frozen attitude between events, let things happen suddenly, surprisingly”. What happens when you are free to create something from a half-finished script?