Deep Listening Night

That breath is not merely air, but can be a source of resonance and emotion in music, is clearly evident in this Deep Listening Night. Every nuance in the tension and strength of the airflow influences pitch, duration and volume, and also shapes the expression and narrative power. For the South Korean daegum player Hyelim Kim, a stable and controlled breath is indispensable for a soft, velvety sound. Ward Ginneberge lets his accordion sigh in an audiovisual work that centres on breathing. Sound artist Michele Spanghero treads the line between technology and mortality in his organ installation for pulmonary ventilators. Bertel Schollaert and the musicians of Tempvs Fvgit and Oltremontano Antwerpen rely on their own lungs. One thing is certain: after today, you will see breathing as so much more than simply the necessary intake of air.

On the programme

Ward Ginneberge / Simon Steen-Andersen (Studio 1 )

Breathing with accordion and video

People breathe through their lungs, accordions through their bellows. For both, breathing is of vital importance. Through a video with a live soundtrack, Asthma allows us to see and hear the tender beauty and terrible horror of air currents.

Bertel Schollaert / Possadas & Gísladóttir (Concertzaal scène)

Night-time currents of the imagination

In Objetos de la noche, Alberto Posadas captures the image of air moving through the night like a great beast revelling in the celestial realm. Using the baritone saxophone, the composer creates a soundscape full of mystery, movement and texture, resulting in a hypnotic soundscape. Immerse yourself in its ethereal, almost tangible atmosphere.

Hyelim Kim / Korean traverse flute (Kamermuziekzaal)

Centuries-old Asian repertoire reborn

Whisper-soft and piercingly powerful. The Korean daegum resonates strongly with the breath of the player: slight changes in air pressure directly influence the pitch and timbre. Hyelim Kim masters this ancient instrument like no other and takes us on a journey through ancient sounds and new works.

Tempvs Fvgit / Corsican polyphonie (Concertzaal)

Breath as a source of harmony

Corsican polyphony sounds raw and unpolished. Yet through nothing more than human breath, the male singers of Tempvs Fvgit build cathedrals of sound and evoke deep emotions. Their breath sets the rhythm, creating tension and release. Can their breath transport you, too?

Oltremontano Antwerpen / Il canto per il Signore (Kamermuziekzaal)

The warm soundscape of 16^th-century wind instruments

Let yourself be enveloped by the majestic sound of the alta capella: Renaissance wind instruments that brought chansons, madrigals and dances to life in the open air. Music from Italian collections, but with roots in ‘our’ culture, created by the ‘Oltremontani’ – meaning ‘from over the mountains’.

Michele Spanghero / Ad lib. (Concertgebouw)

Organ sounds to the rhythm of a machine

In Ad lib., medical ventilators supply air to organ pipes in a contemplative, almost meditative composition. Sound artist Michele Spanghero thus blurs the boundaries between technology and mortality and opens up a dialogue about life, technology and creativity.