In September 2019, the southern French village of Arbas was the centre of a number of projects by four Dutch artists. The village of Arbas, with its surroundings mountains and valleys, was the unique backdrop for performances and projects that each in their own way invited you to walk, think and (re)discover the local environment.
We created the new soundwork Amor in the church of Arbas. Although it’s not a religious piece, it uses the church as a canvas, both architectually and acoustically, in order to create a contemplative moment.
We sculpture sounds. Every red sheet transmits a voice, creating a spatial composition surrounding the audience. We try to create a musical space in a refined way in which stillness, tranquility and space get their place. The human voices reflect the message: listen carefully, be quiet, hear yourself.
The human voice, like no other musical instrument, is capable of immediately entrancing people, making connections. The singing voice can manifest as a powerful surrogate for catalysis and reflection. Singing voices, and their adaptations with electronic and digital tools, determine our sound to a large extent.
The score of Amor is recorded with renowned soprano Michaela Riener.
Oerol’s artistic director Kees Lesuis was invited as guest curator within the framework of the programme section: ‘Programmer un Programmateur’ of festival Pronomade(s) in Haute Garonne. The menu also included projects by Third Space Society/ Lotte van den Berg, Theun Mosk and Marc van Vliet. The project is an initiative of Pronomade(s) in Haute Garonne in co-production with Oerol.
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