Double Experience
The spectacular acoustic experiences and opportunities offered by 2+2+2
Recording technique have now also inspired creative artists. Since the
1990s Sabine Schäfer and Joachim Krebs have been experimenting
with three-dimensional acoustic installations designed to put the listener
more or less into a trance. AquaAngelusVox, a mind-expanding experience
in audiophile form, documents both a musical event and a superb technical
procedure.
Existential Triad
With Hildegard von Bingen's medieval world-view as a starting point,
AquaAngelusVox sets the stage for a meditation on the developmental
and existential triad of humanity, nature, and cosmos. The multichannel
composition, in the form of an acoustic mandala expanding from its own
center, develops in a spherical motion choreography.
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Primal Elements
Water - aqua - with its primal sound effects occupies the center of the
installation as the prima materia of nature. Eighteen electronically crystallized
bird calls point to the open associative field generally evoked by the
word angelus, angel. The link to the third sphere vox - voice - is formed
by Hildegard von Bingen's responsory "De Angelis" as sung a
cappella by three female voices.
Premiere-in-Space
The present DVD documents not only the original roomless composition but
also its premiere-in-space, which was held in the Romanesque Church of
St. Osdag in Mandelsloh on December 4, 2003. After detailed studies of
the church interior, high-power speakers were set up in the nave and carefully
adjusted so that the 2+2+2 Recording technique would have its full impact.
All the seats in the church, even those outside the speaker circle, were
rendered excellent listening sites - an effect that will also surprise
the listener at home.
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