Photo: David Kranzelbinder
UniversOm, musical performance, the Pavelhaus Choir directed by Matija Horvat, October 22, 2016

Universom

For the Pavelhaus Choir, and together with choirmaster Matija Horvat, I wrote the musical score titled UniversOm. The singers performed UniversOm at the opening of Psst... there is still space in outer space! exhibition in Pavelhaus on October 22, 2016.

The project UniversOm - referring to a specific venue* and the theme of the exhibition - intended to bring together two different levels of our comprehension regarding space and ourselves: on the macro level, outer space, and on the micro level, Pavelhaus. The aim of the project was to merge them at the individual human level in a musical performance by the Pavelhaus Choir.
The musical piece UniversOm was assembled from songs in the choir's repertoire, with singing in Slovenian, German, Latin, and the Porabje dialect. The first part was followed by a single melody with the text "Universum", in which the singers slowly transformed the last syllable from "um" to "om". In certain Eastern religions "Om", sung as a mantra, represents the sound of cosmic creation; the beginning of the universe.

*Pavelhaus (Pavel's house) is a cultural society situated in a small village in Austria close to the Slovenian border, and was initiated by Slovenian minority. It stands for national coexistence and, in addition to other activities, has been gathering local people together in a multinational choir for several years.

2016

Musical performance

The Pavelhaus Choir, directed by Matija Horvat

Psst... there is still space in outer space!
Pavelhaus/Pavlova hiša, Laafeld/Poledna, Austria
Curated by Markus Waitschacher.

The Pavelhaus Choir performing UniversOm; Photo: David Kranzelbinder

The Pavelhaus Choir performing UniversOm; Photo: David Kranzelbinder

(An excerpt from my email conversation with the curator Markus Waitschacher from July 1, 2016; in German and Slovene):

Nach einer ziemlich aufregenden, aber auch irgendwie frustrierenden Auseinandersetzung mit dem Universum kam ich zum Schluss, dass das Universum eine persönliche Welt ist die mit unserem beschränkten technischen und geistigen Erfahrungsvermögen immer wieder neu kreiert wird, es selbst ist aber gegenüber uns vollständig gleichgültig. Schon der Blick in den Himmel ist eine romantische Betrachtung seiner Vergangenheit, die mit dem Licht nach x Jahren endlich zu uns gekommen ist. Was wir sehen ist nicht mehr. Das Universum bietet uns einen Einblick ins das, was es mal war, es erlaubt uns aber nicht an seiner Gegenwart teilzunehmen. Außer an dem Punkt des Universums, an dem wir uns gerade befinden.

Po precej zanimivem in na nek način tudi frustrirajočem ukvarjanju z Univerzumom sem prišla do zaključka, da je vesolje oseben svet, ki ga vedno na novo ustvarjamo z našimi omejenimi tehničnimi in mentalnimi zmožnostmi, medtem ko je "on" do nas povsem ravnodušen. Že sam pogled v nebo je romantično opazovanje njegove preteklosti, ki je po x-letih končno prišla do nas. Univerzum nam daje možnost vpogleda v to, kar je enkrat bilo, ne dopušča pa nam, da smo del njegove sedanjosti. Razen na točki Univerzuma na kateri se v tem trenutku nahajamo.

 

The Pavelhaus Choir performing UniversOm; Photo: David Kranzelbinder

The Pavelhaus Choir performing UniversOm; Photo: David Kranzelbinder

The Pavelhaus Choir performing UniversOm; Photo: David Kranzelbinder

The Pavelhaus Choir and choirmaster Matija Horvat; Photo: David Kranzelbinder
October 22, 2016, Pavelhaus, Laafeld / Poledna, Austria; Photo: David Kranzelbinder

 

 

Rehearsal in Pavelhaus, the Pavelhaus Choir and choirmaster Matija Horvat; Photo: Markus Waitschacher