12X12

10.03.2012 - 18h
BOZAR, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten, Brussel
Info & tickets: BOZAR

Programme
TIERKREIS, KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN | 14TH CENTURY ARS NOVA AND ARS SUBTILIOR

Two Flemish ensembles with a contrasting profile have joined artistic forces to present a unique concert programme on the theme of the zodiac. Het Collectief plays Tierkreis by Karlheinz Stockhausen, while Capilla Flamenca counterpoints this music with a broad selection from the 'Ars Nova' and 'Ars Subtilior' (14th century).

Tierkreis consists of twelve short, concentrated melodies, supported by simple chords. Each melody illustrates the specific characteristics of a particular sign. The original version of this work composed in 1974 consisted of twelve music boxes, each playing these characteristic tunes. The work is marked both by its uncomplicated harmoniousness and the radical avant-garde quality that we have come to associate with Stockhausen. In line with the composer's advice that performers should create their own chamber music version of Tierkreis, the two ensembles have chosen to add colour by introducing singers as well as players of both modern and old instruments.

The shape of Capilla Flamenca's Zodiac programme was originally inspired by the splendid depictions of the signs of the zodiac that Duke Jean de Berry ordered from the Limbourg Brothers. In these paintings, the twelve months of the year and the changing seasons are identified with the twelve signs of the zodiac. In this sense, this work of art is an evocation of the inner temperaments of fourteenth-century man, whose life was to a large degree determined by the whims of nature. Capilla Flamenca found universal answers to the theme of the zodiac in virtuoso pieces by De Machaut, Da Bologna and De Molins.

In an unusual crossover between mediaeval and 20th century music, Capilla Flamenca and Het Collectief attempt to evoke the symbolism of the 12 signs. The two ensembles truly invade each other's territory with 'New Art' –'Ars Nova', which results in the construction of a fascinating historical bridge between highly divergent music styles, genres and periods. The audience is offered a surprising mix of vocal and instrumental, old and new music, performed - not accidentally - by twelve singers and musicians.


Performed by:
Capilla Flamenca (chant, lute, fiddle, renaissance-recorders)
Het Collectief (violin, cello, flute, clarinet, piano)

Watch the trailer