MaerzMusik: Hennix I – Pre-opening

Konzert

Catherine Christer Hennix
The Electric Harpsichordfor
Keyboard and Live-Electronics (1976/2017) U


“The Electric Harpsichord” of Catherine Christer Hennix has been named “the obscure masterpiece of early American minimalism.” Its creator is the Swedish sound-artist, poet, philosopher, mathematician and visual artist Catherine Christer Hennix. Performed only a few times in 1976, the piece led the life of a legend until 2010. After more than 40 years, MaerzMusik is delighted to present a new live realization of this stunning aural experience.

“The Electric Harpsichord,” recalls Henry Flynt, “was something other than music. It was a new genre, or chapter, in ‘psychology’ called a hallucinatory or illuminatory sound environment… The listener’s attention is monopolized; the physical vibration is physically felt; the uniformity of texture produces a sense that time is suspended.”

The performance marks the pre-opening of MaerzMusik 2017 as well as the inauguration of “Kalam-i-Nur”, a six-day project space dedicated to Hennix’ immersive sonic practice. It is an extension of MaerzMusik’s closing event “The Long Now"

The project is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation.

Catherine Christer Hennix keyboard & computer
Stefan Tiedje sound direction & computer programming

Press reviews:

Reflexionen über die Zeit beim Festival MaerzMusik - Morgenpost

Der Tetrachord von Wasserstoff - taz

Wiederentdeckungen - Bastian Zimmermann

Der Vorhang Nun - der Freitag

Zwei andere Orte - Kultur Extra

A night at Silent Green - thebluemoment

Das Maximale an der Minimalmusik - Night Out @ Berlin

Entschwurbelnd: Eröffnung MaerzMusik mit Catherine Christer Hennix