Total Immersion Happening

A singer, a percussionist, four flautists, four saxophonists and an orchestra of two hundred flutes and saxophones … the Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino took a highly unorthodox approach to his Studi per l’intonazione del mare. In this grandiose composition, Sciarrino seeks to evoke the vastness of the ocean. Despite the huge ensemble, the music remains remarkably fragile. Studi per l’intonazione del mare is an unforgettable listening adventure featuring a host of amateur musicians, prepared and accompanied by members of the outstanding I Solisti.

Franz Schubert is best known as a composer of symphonies and works for solo voices, but he also wrote more than a hundred songs for male choirs. The Vlaams Radiokoor has curated a selection of these for a series of short, 20-minute performances in our Horta Hall, surrounded by an immersive setting in which the songs flutter around your ears. 

An intense listening experience … that’s why the Acousmonium was built. The legendary orchestra of eighty loudspeakers disperses sound throughout the entire space, creating a profound sense of immersion. It is the perfect way to experience drone pioneer Éliane Radigue’s minimalist, mesmerizing music. It also makes Aho Ssan’s multilayered tracks and Jlin’s energetic, raw music all the more overwhelming. 

Aïchoucha is an entrancing film concert by Khalil Epi. During a journey through his homeland of Tunisia, the composer and instrumentalist recorded local musical traditions such as Malouf, Issaouiya chants and the rhythms of Kerkennah. To celebrate the diversity of these cultures, he has transformed his images and recordings into an immersive performance. Sounds from his travel diary interact live with synthesizers and electronics. The film is simultaneously projected in a 270° format across three screens. Following presentations at French arts festivals, our Studio is the ideal setting for this multidisciplinary project. 

Book of Air is more than a slim pamphlet. It is a full-blown catalogue of compositions exploring the concept of time. How does time influence our perception of music? What happens when we stretch time to zoom in on a single sound? And what does time mean in improvisation? During the Immersion Happening, four musicians improvise on the spot, immersing you in an intense listening experience. Ohme provides the visuals thanks to a light microscope and a 4K Ultra HD camera, capturing live footage of the thermal transformations of organic materials. When heated, they change from a liquid to a crystalline state, revealing fascinating and vibrant patterns.