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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Could a crematory ever be a site for new beginnings? The Hochschule für Künste (HfK), Bremen‘s University of the Arts, ensemble “The Heads” has chanced a look into the abyss with an impressive performance and was decorated with the price for “Originality” at the “D-bü” 2022 competition.
We all suffer under the permanent pressure to present ourselves, to consume and prove our worth. People are ever anxious to fade away to nothingness in a showy and shallow world of social media, hounded by painful memories or relentless self doubt. One´s innermost self can be rapidly overwhelmed by a lack of drive and motivation. People get beaten down, loose themselves.
Students at the University of the Arts formed the interdisciplinary ensemble “The Heads” to grapple with these phenomena of depression, grief, exhaustion and loneliness in our societies. Their deeply felt concert performance “Katabasis” aspires to be redemptive and hopes to at least give audiences a bit of respite with what the group like to call a “musical theatre of resistance, hope, dreams and celebration of the beauty of life.” Their efforts have been acknowledged with the prize for “Originality” at the “D-bü” 2022 that comes with an award of 4.000 Euros.
“D-bü” is a national competition of academies of music in Germany that has been held for the third time this year with the Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen hosting. “D-bü” is unique in the way the event does not permit customary performances of classical music that tend to be stuffy. The competition does only support unconventional concert formates staged at uncommon sites. Innovation, sustainability and indeed originality are key. More than 30 ensembles from German music academies have joined the contest in 2022. Just eight qualified for the finale.
“The Heads” have been founded in 2021 by members Hans Fröhlich (recorder, baroque bassoon), Anna Lodone (viola da gamba) and Melissa Wedekind (voice, live electronics, sounds), with Malte Servaty (programme for Integrated Design) as an associate. All of them have attended classes by Professor Raphael Sbrzesny, Professor Hille Perl, Benny Aghassi, Professor Benno Schachtner, Bettina Pahn and Professor Han Tol. As artists “The Heads” fuse classical with electronic music, throwing performative elements, as well as audio and visual installations into the mix.
During the winter of 2021 the ensemble won a development grant from the programme “Neustart Kultur” funded by the state secretary of culture. In January 2022 “The Heads” collaborated with the international group of female artists at the collective “From the A.” Together, they performed at a dilapidated building in downtown Bremen. The project did already foreground self-examination on the fears, dreams and efforts of performers to find themselves.
“Katabasis” at the Crematory
“Katabasis” continued this exploration for “D-bü” as a station drama on a course running through the Old Crematory at Tuttlingen. The title originates in classical Greek and means “to go down, descend,” having commonly be used when engaging with death or a pass through the underworld. In their music and texts the artists juxtapose these themes with “Anabasis,” the ascend. The Crematory thus became a “portal to quietude, self-reflection and the end of worldly constraints, thereby turning into a site of new beginnings.” Glittering springlike, the madrigal “Zefiro torna” by Claudio Monteverdi brought the audience back into the world of the living at the end.
The jury for the final round of “D-bü” was chosen among students at those German academies of music who did not have attendees chosen to participate.
The jury set out the arguments for their vote with this verdict: “By combining classical music with electronic sounds and a deeply deferential use of the performance space, an art work emerged that is as poignant as it is consistent. The strong presence of every participant and the stringent dramaturgy, supported by the visual and auditive aesthetic turned the concert into an unforgettable experience. The jury is awarding the prize based on the exceptional overall impression of an originality that is deeply stirring and profoundly touching.”
About the Bremen University of the Arts / Hochschule für Künste Bremen (HfK)
The Hochschule für Künste Bremen is the leading art academy in Northwest Germany. With more than 1,000 students, 88 professors and 162 lecturers, the HfK Bremen offers a unique portfolio of courses and guarantees individual support for students in workshops, laboratories and studios as well as practice rooms and concert halls. The central quality of the HfK Bremen is the interdisciplinary connection of the different disciplines between art, design and music, which is developed in joint projects. The HfK Bremen has two locations, one in a historic warehouse building in the Überseestadt, the former docklands of Bremen, the other in a classicist building in the historic center of the city.
The university and its activities, ranging from exhibitions and interventions in public spaces to concerts and festivals, is a pillar of Bremen's cultural offerings (about 400 events at the HfK Bremen) and offers students many opportunities to test their skills in front of an audience.
As a historic Hanseatic city, Bremen has developed civic engagement, democratic traditions, idiosyncrasies and independence over centuries and is regarded in Germany as a pioneering and experimental city that is open to the new. Bremen is very popular among students as a place to live.
More information: www.hfk-bremen.de
"The Heads" formed in 2021.
Raphael Sbrzesny
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"The Heads" formed in 2021.
Raphael Sbrzesny
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