Ritual IV

Hildegard from Bingen meets Pauline Oliveros, and the little bagpipes from Auvergne set off to climb without a definite end. The Fourth Ritual does not reconstruct tradition — it allows it to move towards new horizons of music.

Clara Lévy will begin with selected parts of 13 Visions, a series that is an imaginary meeting of two female composers separated by eight centuries. Its structure is defined by Pauline Oliveros's Thirteen Changes — thirteen poetic instructions inspired by earthly and cosmic phenomena. With each of them, Lévy combines one song by Hildegard of Bingen, a famous medieval mystic and composer. The modern artist does not quote the ancient antiphon. The melody remains hidden in the heights of the sounds, and the violin and voice bring out its trace. The score sets the timbres and material, leaving the performer to decide on the dynamics and duration. Each vision can therefore be arranged a little differently during the concert.

After the intervention of Jakub Ziółkowski, the visions will turn to climbing. Cabrette are small bagpipes associated with the dance music of mountainous Auvergne and other regions of central France. Jacques Puech asked Guilhem Lacroux to write a piece that would take this instrument to previously unrecognized territory. In Gravir, electronics superimpose successive cabrette voices, moving upwards at different rates. The illusion of incessant ascent is created: the music climbs for half an hour, but never reaches the top. One traditional instrument transforms into a dense, pulsating and increasingly penetrating mass of sound.

It is also one of the purest examples of the method of La Nòvia, the collective in residence at this year's festival. The experiment is not added to tradition from the outside, but grows out of the bourdon, the timbre and the physical properties of the instrument. First, a medieval song will appear as a trace, then the cabrette will free itself from the old melody and begin an impossible climb. The past does not provide the finished music here, but the principles that allow us to imagine its continuation.

The concert is co-organised by Cricoteka.

Concert under the patronage of the French Institute in Poland.

Availability:

The event will last about 70 minutes and will take place without interruption. Two thirty-minute performances will be joined by the intervention of Jakub Ziółkowski.

Clara Lévy will play the violin and sing. The music is based on long sounds, burdons, instrument preparations and variable dynamics, including also very quiet passages. Jacques Puech's gravir uses small bagpipes and live electronics. Repeated and superimposed sounds can create an intense, penetrating sound with an almost uninterrupted course.

The audience will sit around the central stage on cushions, poufs and carpet. Several chairs will also be available.

It is possible to leave the room during the event, but there will be no possibility to return.