DREAMMUSIC

Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s mesmerising drones contain powerful emotional charges. They oscillate between dismay and awe. The low instruments in her four-part In The Light Of Air create an impressive ocean of sound on which musical poetry dedicated to light is recited. The four movements – Luminance, Serenity, Existence and Remembrance – are linked by short transitions to form a dreamy unity. An adapted lighting concept enhances the unique atmosphere.

With mysterious whispers, Flemish composer Maya Verlaak contributes to the new oeuvre for ensemble and electronics. In Whispers, the human voice determines the evolution of the timbres and harmonies born in ensemble playing.

Lera Auerbach’s Dreammusic also puts the listener into a dreamlike trance. Her music – dramatic, communicative and rich in brooding intensity and poetic expression – speaks with a special voice that builds on the language of modernists like Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke. HERMESensemble is led by Koen Kessels in a unique dialogue with cello virtuoso Maya Fridman.