Work of the Week – Chaya Czernowin: Poetica

A sound experience on a whole new level: on 12 April 2024, the new piece Poetica by Chaya Czernowin can be experienced for the first time at the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden. Percussionist Stephen Schick and the Percussions de Strasbourg will perform the world premiere together with the catinblack ensemble. 

The sounds of the string instruments were pre-produced at the IRCAM Paris studio for electronic music in the run-up to this project. The 53-minute work Poetica marks the beginning of a collaboration between Hellerau - European Centre for the Arts and the IRCAM-Centre Pompidou and is part of a concert series for innovative and immersive concert formats and 3D audio developments. Poetica is also the first part of Czernowin's three-part series of works "Vena". The associated pieces Immaterial (Vena II) and Unhistoric Acts (Vena III) were premiered in 2021 and 2022. 

Poetica by Chaya Czernowin: Immersive Sounds

In Poetica, the solo percussion part also contains vocal elements. It is accompanied by a percussion quartet that acts as a strange extension of the percussion. Recordings of demonstrations in Paris, Tel Aviv and the USA can also be heard.

The piece is a meditation about attempting to find a point of clarity and solace in a harsh and unpredictable and indecipherable reality. It is initiated by breathing and brings to the fore the force of breath.(Chaya Czernowin)

This week we can look forward to another world premiere of a new piece by Chaya Czernowin. It is called Moths of Hunger and Awe for solo violin and string orchestra. The concert will take place on 18 April 2024 at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, with Ilya Gringolts playing the solo part and Bas Wiegers conducting the Munich Chamber Orchestra.

Further Reading: 

Chaya Czernowin: Composer Profile 

Poetica: Work Details and Online Score 

Website Hellerau – European Centre for the Arts 

photo: Christopher McIntosh