QUARTETTO MAURICE & SOLOVOICES
SPIEGEL SPIELE
The encounter between Quartetto Maurice and SoloVoices took place in 2021, the year in which the vocal ensemble presented the work Stimmung by Karlheinz Stockhausen to the audience of Musica in Prossimità.
The specularity between the two projects - string quartet and vocal quartet - gives rise to the idea of a collaboration that immediately proves to be very fruitful.
Curious about the possibilities offered by an unprecedented octet, they commissioned the writing of new works from two of the most relevant names in contemporary composition: the eclectic Austrian composer and patches programmer Bernhard Lang and the Lithuanian composer JustÄ— JanulytÄ—, whose research focuses particularly on monochromatic ensembles (only strings, only winds, only voices).
The audience will attend the world premiere of GAME 15 - Mirror Games (Bernhard Lang), a work developed from symmetrical processes based on the doubling of the square and the idea of specularity between the four string instruments and the four voices, and Nodo Infinito (JustÄ— JanulytÄ—), a hypnotic loop inspired by the Buddhist symbol of the 'infinite knot', an eternal circle of time and energy where cause and effect are one and the same.
Project commissioned by Metamorfosi Notturne within Musica in Prossimità Festival, SoloVoices, Rainy Days Festival, Distat Terra Festival.
Justé Janulyté
In her work «Nodo infinito», JustÄ— JanulytÄ— develops a body of sound in which the two quartets blend so tightly that it gradually becomes impossible to distinguish the human voices from the strings.
​The works by Justė Janulytė (Vilnius, 1982) mostly written for dense monochromatic ensembles (only strings, only winds or only voices), explore musical time/space perception through large-scale multilayered textures and extremely gradual metamorphosis. While balancing between the aesthetics of minimalism, spectralism and acoustic electronica, Justė Janulytė composes sonic metaphors of optic ideas.
​
She has collaborated with some of the world's leading ensembles and soloists, including Konzerthausorchester Berlin, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Teatro La Fenice Symphony, BBC Symphony and National Orchestra of Wales among others.
Bernhard Lang
​Bernhard Lang, for his part, builds up a complex and extensive dramaturgy. He experiments with various combinations from duo to double quartet in a world influenced by the philosophers and alchemists of the Renaissance. Inspired by the «Tabula Smaragdina», his work unfolds like a magic formula.
​
Bernhard Lang (Linz, 1957) is an Austrian composer, improviser and programmer of musical patches and applications. His work can be described as contemporary classical, with roots, however, in various genres such as 20th-century avant-garde, European classical music, jazz, free jazz, rock, punk, techno, EDM, electronica, electronic music, and computer-generated music.
His works range from solo pieces and chamber music to large ensemble pieces and works for orchestra and musical theatre. Besides music for concert halls, Lang designs sound and music for theatre, dance, film and sound installations.
