QUIXOTIC

 

Tanit' is named after the chief Phoenician goddess of Carthage, mother goddess and fertility symbol.

The central figure of this piece is shaped like the 'sign of Tanit'. Signs throughout the ages having been open to different interpretations.

In this performance installation, we explore different perceptions of a truth, how we 'blow' them out of proportion and how we relate to a deity.

 

 

From the composer’s perspective:

As a composer I am currently exploring the continuum between composition and improvisation within the premise of Middle Eastern and Western art music in immersive theatre-based contexts.

'Tanit' is a piece that was strictly collaborative from the outset, starting with the composer, in conversation with the violist, experimenting with a sound world that uses aluminium foil to evoke the sound of an Armenian duduk. I then wrote the music which blurs with improvisation, and presented them to the artists. They structured the piece in time, of which landing points were marked by balloons popping. Up to 20 audience members can experience this piece at a time, popping their heads through square holes. They hear the violist's drones and humming as they take their seats. The artists who perform as part of the installation shake the balloon set at specific points in the piece. The viola's drones are then metamorphosed into collective humming.