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Miroirs
Image and music
In Miroirs, the Utopia Ensemble sings polyphony from 16th-century picture motets, while mirroring that music and images in a contemporary visual and musical response by composer-videographer Benjamien Lycke. Music and image, in other words.
The picture motets are the starting point for this programme. These 16th-century engravings depict a religious group of statues with a polyphonic score in their hands. Ten years ago, the Antwerp Picture Motets were added to the Flemish Government's top pieces list because of their cultural-historical value and rarity.
The programme is centred around the performance of the ten Picture Motets, as they are perfectly singable. But the true innovation relies on giving the 16th-century story a a contemporary mirror image by composer and videographer Benjamien Lycke. Hence Miroirs or Mirrors.
Lycke masters both music and images. He studied composition in Ghent and London. With his ten short pieces, he creates an almost mystical sound world with many dissonant colours, long melodic lines and impressive sound clusters.
And then the visual work, an absolute first. With artificial intelligence, Lycke searches for images that he then reworks to arrive at topical themes: often poetic, aesthetic, sometimes emotional, but above all confrontational. With a searching eye, Lycke slides over the photographic image only to reach a point at the end.
Utopia Ensemble brings together five singers with years of experience in internationally renowned ensembles such as Huelgas Ensemble, Capilla Flamenca, Vox Luminis, Collegium Vocale, etc. Utopia specialises in Flemish vocal polyphony from the 16th century, searching for a pure singing style that expresses the polyphonic fabric in unprecedented transparency.
With music by Orlandus Lassus, Cornelis Verdonck, Daniel Raymundi, Andreas Pévernage, Cornelis Schuyt and Benjamien Lycke.
Press
“The results are beautiful, intimate and thoroughly engaging” - Gramophone, UK
More info
with Michaela Riener (mezzo), Bart Uvyn (countertenor), Adriaan De Koster (tenor), Lieven Termont (baritone), Guillaume Olry (bass) and Bart Rodyns (organ) music and image Benjamien Lycke photo Tim De Backer
