MUSIC FOR HEART AND BREATH by Richard Reed Parry

Sat May 12th 16:30
Rytmisk Sal – Musikhuset

Performed by Århus Sinfonietta and conducted by Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason.

What would it sound like if the heartbeat and breath of the individual musician controlled an orchestral concert? That is what the composer and multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire has set out to explore in his poetic and meditative opus “Music for Heart and Breath” from 2011.

The creation of this piece was informed by the idea of letting the musicians on stage wear stethoscopes on their chests, which then dictate the rhythm of the strings during certain passages. In other passages it is the breath of the musician that controls the tempo. That obviously means that every single performance of the opus will be completely unique – also due to the fact that the exact orchestration may vary: thus, for instance in Aarhus the guitars in the score are replaced by harp and marimba.

The young Icelandic conductor, Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason, who has organized and headed Björk’s great orchestral concerts on several occasions, will conduct the 11-piece Århus Sinfonietta. The concert at SPOT will be the first performance of “Music for Heart and Breath” in Denmark.

Presented in collaboration with Århus Sinfonietta. Access for everyone with a valid SPOT wrist band. Tickets specifically for this concert are also available for purchase. See more HERE.

The activities of Århus Sinfonietta are backed by The Arts Foundation, the City of Aarhus, and The Danish Composers’ Society.