Daniel Godsil is inspired by science fiction, thrash metal and brutalist architecture. The title of his composition transi, dedicated to his beloved cat Sadie, refers to transi or “memento mori” tombs. Transi tombs are monuments consisting of two representations: the top one depicts the person in a fine suit, while the bottom one reveals their body’s decay. They were popular among Europe’s higher clergy and nobility from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, as a gesture of repentance and a reminder of the transience of life. The text of the work is taken from one such tomb, that of Bishop Richard Fleming of Lincoln Cathedral: “Reader, whoever comes this way, read for a while. Stand, seeing in me, who is eaten by worms, what you will be... All things are put to flight by cruel death, like shadows… Brief life is vain, such glory has this end.”
Composer, organist, pianist, arranger and jazz musician
Ivan Božićević brings together different genres such as baroque, electronics, jazz and world music. In recent years, he has focused on modernising the organ, combining it with electronics and new technologies. Ivan first came across Yeats’ poem
The Everlasting Voices in the early 1980s. The line “O sweet eternal voices, be still” immediately struck a chord, and he knew he would one day create music inspired by the poem. However, it took him almost thirty years to complete his first iteration – an a cappella composition for mixed choir. The poem seemed fitting for this year’s Biennale theme because, in his interpretation, it speaks of “broken ties” – the connection we have lost with something essential, primordial and indispensable for a meaningful life. Although the poem does not specify what it is that we have “lost”, it is precisely this uncertainty that makes it all the more poignant and moving.
The Everlasting Voices
O sweet everlasting Voices, be still;
Go to the guards of the heavenly fold
And bid them wander obeying your will,
Flame under flame, till Time be no more;
Have you not heard that our hearts are old,
That you call in birds, in wind on the hill,
In shaken boughs, in tide on the shore?
O sweet everlasting Voices, be still.
W. B. Yeats, from The Wind Among the Reeds (1899)
Lula Romero is a composer, pianist and art historian whose work explores sound across various music formats. Her composition
Umbra looks at how the position of the listener and the source of sound affects the perception of both the music piece and the sound itself. The sound material consists of a limited number of aggregates, or chords, played on an organ. The electronic segment uses these same aggregates with synthesised sounds. In the electronic segment, the frequencies that make up the aggregates move independently through different speakers, creating moving “shadows” that flow through the space. While the organ remains a fixed source of sound, the electronics add a dimension of movement, making the sonic experience more dynamic. The title
Umbra refers to the darkest part of the shadow.
Adrian Foster is a Canadian organist, composer and sound artist, renowned for his dedication to exploring new musical possibilities of the organ and modular synthesizers.
Murmurations, originally composed for solo organ and fixed electronics with an emphasis on vocal samples, was later reworked for organ and voice. Inspired by minimalist and ambient soundscapes, the piece explores the balance between organ and voice, where overlapping lines and rhythmic groupings create a rich soundscape. In the piece, Adrian encourages performers to experiment with vocal effects, in order to create an ethereal cloud of sound that forms a unified texture, providing an introspective experience for the listener.
Composer, organist and pedagogue
Ante Knešaurek is one of the rare Croatian organists who actively pursues organ improvisation. He is a full professor at the Zagreb Academy of Music and has recently published a volume on harmony. His work
Psalm 139 (138) portrays the inner quandaries – conflicts between good and evil. Like the eponymous psalm, it speaks of the need for self-reflection before the eyes of the Creator in order to preserve one’s own identity. In the composition, Ante attempts to express the hope that: "despite all odds, we are not alone and that God is always by our side."
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Soprano Marija Lešaja and organist and harpsichordist Katarina Lamotte have been making music together for years. After studying at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, both musicians trained at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In addition to performing at festivals and seminars throughout Europe, Katarina works as the organist of the church of Saint-Vincent in Hendaye, France. Marija has realised notable roles in opera productions, performs as a soloist accompanied by orchestras and ensembles, and collaborates on numerous contemporary music projects and radio dramas.
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Marija Lešaja, soprano
Katarina Lamotte, organ
Ivan Božičević: The Everlasting Voices*, for soprano, organ and electronics
Daniel Godsil: transi, for soprano and electronics
Lula Romero: Umbra, for organ and electronics
Adrian Foster: Murmurations, for soprano and organ
Ante Knešaurek: Psalm 138 (139)*, for soprano and organ
*premiere – commissioned by the 33rd MBZ
