The Essence of Things...
Dariusz Przybylski Apollo (2010), Vinko Globokar ?Corporel (1985), Iannis Xenakis Kassandra (1987), Marcin Błażewicz Arista – death omen (1988)
Leszek Lorent – percussion, Maciej Nerkowski – baritone, Andrzej Brzoska – sound direction
Human voice and percussion are the two oldest instruments known to humanity. Both have accompanied humans since the beginning of their existence. Sounds of ritual drums and hymns sang in praise of deities are part and parcel of every culture in the world. Percussion instruments and voices gave rise to the first ever sphere of the sacred in the history of civilisation, allowing humans, if only fleetingly, to reach the Incomprehensible, to get closer to the Essence of Things.
All the compositions performed during this concert attempt to bring this essence (gr. eidos) home to us. Anchored in the culture of ancient Greece, on the one hand, and based on Buddhist and Hindu understanding of the time-space continuum, on the other, they are philosophical works about the nature of being, expressed through singing and the idiom of contemporary percussion instruments.
Dariusz Przybylski – „Apollo”
This composition dates back to 2010 as it was conceived of as an entry into the International Contemporary Chamber Music Competition in Cracow. The libretto consists of 34 sonnets by Petrarch. Przybylski assigned some fragments of the text to the drummer, who chants, shouts, and recites selected passages of the poems. With time, the composition’s initial, complex rhythm segues into motor structures. In “Apollo”, Przybylski proves to be a master composer who expertly emulates the intrinsic cadences of Renaissance verse in his score for baritone and percussion.
Vinko Globokar – „? Corporel”
The composition may be easily interpreted as an existential, musico-somatic piece. This is a case of instrumental theatre music in which the entire orchestration has been reduced to an individual sound generator, namely, to the human body. „? Corporel” is a composition attempting to provide access to the mind of a mentally disturbed person, whose body and soul, mind and matter are separated against their will. Embattled, the work’s protagonist is constantly beset with the bipolarity: agitation, anxiety, euphoria, emotional withdrawal, and composure. Eventually, in the piece’s climax, the torment of life that the protagonist is afflicted by ceases to be. So does the protagonist’s life as he chooses suicide over suffering.
Iannis Xenakis – „Kassandra”
The piece, whose libretto is based on Aeschylus’ text, belongs to a multi-part composition “Oresteia” and was written with percussion and falsetto baritone in mind. Additionally, there is an instrumental part played on the psalterium – a string instrument reminiscent of ancient lyre. As a composer, Xenakis assigns a double role to the singer, who is supposed to play Kassandra (falsetto) and Coryphaeus – the leader of the Greek chorus (baritone). While on stage, the two are engaged in an expressive dialogue. Prophetess Kassandra experiences a vision of the blood-stained house of the Atreids. Singing, shouting and sounds of the oncoming prophesied terror are each time enhanced by the sounds of percussion instruments, including membranophones and wooden idiophones.
Marcin Błażewicz – „Arista – death omen”
“Arista – death omen” is a composition for a set of percussion instruments and live electronics. It narrates a story of Arista, a Hindu demon, who possesses a yogi while he is preoccupied with a meditation ritual. In consequence, the yogi is filled with emptiness – there is an inner void in him that results in lack of light and sound. The demon is thus a harbinger of death; the yogi is unable to change his karma as he is immersed in a mystery of death.
Aided by an extended performing apparatus, the composer fashions an uncanny type of tension by juxtaposing fragments tinged with bruitism with motor gongs characterised by long decay. Altered digitally, the shock-inducing shouting of the percussionist is, metaphysically speaking, a shriek of every living creature approaching the netherworld – the land of the dead. Błażewicz dedicated his composition to the memory of his Brother.
TICKETS:
Five-day tickets – standard: 150zł, concession: 100zł
Day tickets – standard: 45zł, concession: 30zł
Film screening, workshops, presentation, dance nights - free admission
Box office/booking:
Centrum Kultury w Lublinie
Centre for Cutlure in Lublin
ul. Peowiaków 12, 20-007 Lublin
The box office is open Monday to Friday, 10 am - 7 pm.
tel. +48 81 466 61 40, email: kasa@ck.lublin.pl