Experiencing Corporeality.
Unburied Signs.
Emotions.
"bewegt - erstarrt" ("moving - frozen") is an electro-acoustic performance in 4 parts confronting the physical presence of the musicians with the synthetic reality of the video and sound track. Each of these four parts incorporates a video interlude or video postlude, respectively.
It is the main concern of the music-theatre to exhibit the permanently creative moments of the human individual amidst a stage-setting of digital sound-planes, levels of sound-sculptures and spatial installations.
The powerful, energetic music and performance of Mia Zabelka and her improvisations on the violin are counterpointed by video sequences of Peter Egger. Metal / glass objects by Hans Kuppelwieser and a long-string installation by Paul Panhuysen are incorporated in the sound spectrum as are a baritone saxophone, percussionists, a sound artist, a voice actress, and tape.
There are no plots nor roles in "bewegt-erstarrt". The debris of contents is eliminated so as to present as clearly as possible the tensions of human isolation, of a deadening environment, of the preoccupation by media technology, and of a rising hope. The musicians and performers are the 'prototypes' of suffering, of lust, adaptation, and power ... They employ their voices, their bodies, space, and again and again the element of improvisation to express themselves.
Concordant videographs and light spaces establish a common resonance of sound, shape, colour, and movement by cutting various materials "I try to combine elements of music and the theatre, to unite improvisation and composition, which often makes the musical score look like a film script. Music and the scene are inseparable components of 'bewegt - erstarrt': The percussionists play on great metal sculptures that are both, elements of scenery and objects in space. The performers produce highly differentiated sounds similar to animal voices and act like taut strings. Their movements correspond to those of a network of mega-strings spanning the stage and played by hands like a giant violin. In the beginning the bodies of the performers and musicians arc present only as formal 'data', as animal bodies, human bodies, as toys of technology, electric bodies." The video images respond to and increase the velocity, the extent of the musical and physical gesture in direct interplay with the musicians.
The leitmotif of the first part is the BODY. The perceptible presence of bodies, their tensions, their familiarities, their shadow formations marked by the contrast of the natural eroticism of the body and its mechanical properties.
"Due to my interest in musical improvisation, I radicalize the unique significance of the moment by leaving more space to the creative responsibility of the individual musicians and simultaneously raising the challenge. Thus the static and reproductive element is being avoided. My music can grow and expand continuously. With this approach I experiment with unconventional timbres and sound structures.
During the performance my body is studded with microphones so that every movement produces numerous sounds. The signals of these microphones are transmitted to a sound modulator before being amplified. A modulated tone can thus be added to the noises. The sounds of the violin are also amplified electrically and modulated simultaneously by different effect equipment."
