Moments of Silence

Might we consider silence to be truth? Every concert has a ritualistic aspect. However, the vocal ensemble DionysosNow! and HERMESensemble take things a step further. Works by Josquin Deprez, Cipriaan De Rore, Adriaan Willaert and Carlo Gesualdo di Venosa alternate with distorted sound improvisations on the clarinet by Peter Merckx. The music moves from worldly expression to devotional depth, from melody to sound. We step systematically back in time: the luscious polyphony at the beginning of the concert turns back into Gregorian plainchant. Sound becomes noise, until even that ultimately passes into silence. That is the point at which music entirely relinquishes its earthly contours and culminates in its purest and most mystical truth.