Now I lay me down

Apart from our remote senses of hearing and seeing, what other senses are at work when we perceive music and motion? Sabrina Hölzer, who received the Belmont Prize in 2013 for her innovative music theatre projects, addressed this question in her project “Now I lay me down” and explored the sensory processing of music via “direct sensing”, i.e. the sense of touch and smell. Together with ten musicians of the soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop, she tested a new type of interaction between the performers and the audience with the aim of developing a new format for musical experience besides opera and concert performances. Improvised material formed the core of the production. The cellist and composer Michael Rauter investigated how music rhythmically and sensually influences the direct senses. Among other things, he worked with percussive rhythms which contrast and harmonise with the body’s internal rhythm. Following the performances in Berlin, Oslo and Ghent, audience members were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their impressions. The results have been compiled and published, with the aim of contributing to the artistic-empirical research in the field of neuropsychology and music.

A production by INTOTHEDARK, co-produced by the Ghent Festival van Vlaanderen, Matvik Crew Forening Oslo and the Berlin Festspiele.

Artistic director: Sabrina Hölzer
Musical director: Michael Rauter
Composers: Michael Rauter, Samuel Barber, Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner
Artists: Emanuelle Bernard (FR), Rebecca Beyer, Dea Szücs (HU) and others

Additional Venues:

Handelsbeurs Concertzaal, Ghent: 29/30 Sep. 2016