Experiencing sounds in silence

It’s not very often that a music concert is held in a megalithic temple; rarer still in complete silence.

After putting on the headphones, listeners are enclosed within themselves and can absorb all the details inside the music

This, however, is precisely what Oracle, a unique spectacle that is being staged at Ħaġar Qim on Friday will entail. This latest production from arts collective Rubberbodies is also something of a milestone since nothing like it has ever been staged in Malta so far.

Oracle is the result of an artistic fusion combining two primary artistic media, namely performance and music.

It will be presented with that all-important measure of experimentalist attitude that Rubberbodies have become widely renowned for: a manifestation of sound and art relying on cutting-edge technology enhanced by the overwhelming surreal setting that an ancient site such as Ħaġar Qim can offer.

Understandably, the musical accompaniment on the night will also be directly inspired by the theme of the event.

Apart from individual performances, the set will also feature a 10-minute collaborative piece between French sound designer and composer Vincent Villuis (Aes Dana) and Maltese sound artist Mario Sammut (Cygna), both well-known artists on the international trance and ambient scene.

Throughout this past week, they have been investigating prehistoric sites, shaping their ideas and compositions and shifting audio material between the site and the studio to come up with the pieces that will be performed during Oracle.

For its entire duration, the 90-minute concert will be transmitted not through a conventional PA system, using instead a rather more intimate set-up where the audience will hear the music through wireless headsets, making the performance something of a 'silent concert’.

Unusual as this may seem, this concept has already been successfully tried and tested, more prominently during the launch of Sammut’s acclaimed 2011 Opus Ena debut album. Isolating each listener from the rest of the audience enables one to establish a unique and personalised rapport with the music. This in turn helps to heighten one’s sensory skills and absorb more from the music and the environment it is being played in.

This exceptional event offers a rare opportunity not only for those who love music but also those feeling a strong connection to this significant cultural site.

Charged with history and natural energy, Oracle will be a one-off event celebrating the equinox that marks the advent of spring. Sammut believes the combination of the site’s intrinsic characteristics, the event’s audio-visual presentation and his music’s ethereal qualities offers an enticing and rich experience that may be impossible to discover any other way.

Interview with Cygna

Who and what is Rubberbodies?

Rubberbodies is an arts collective consisting of four core members, namely Jimmy Grima, Rebecca Camilleri, Matthew Pandolfino and me. We often work collaboratively with other artists, so we have to be prepared to work on a very wide range of projects; anything from street performances to music festivals, theatre and dance.

What made you choose Ħaġar Qim as the location for Oracle?

Ħaġar Qim is a beautiful site I’ve wanted to work in for a very long time. Following my performance at the Garden of Rest in Floriana, I realised I needed to do something at Ħaġar Qim and I couldn’t afford to wait any longer. There’s no denying the rich identity and character of the temples, but this site means even more to me; it is a source of raw materials I can take inspiration from. I feel Ħaġar Qim is largely under-appreciated, or perhaps misunderstood. I want to encourage people to remember it as a living place, a place of great significance. There’s a lot of life in our islands’ history, our heritage and being involved in such a cultural project means a lot to both Villuis and me.

How will the music connect with the main concept?

We’ll be working with a large variety of sounds – from ambient to cinematic, ethereal to ritualistic. The music will be produced and mixed specifically for this event and we’ve been working on sounds that we think reflect a connection to Ħaġar Qim.

It is important for us to make this an authentic sound experience. We’ll also be creating variations on our previous work, as we’ve felt there’s certain continuity between this sacred space and some of our own individual work.

Our heritage, of course, isn’t just starting here but is continually being drawn upon and drawn out. Towards the end of the concert this connection becomes more evident when we enter the truly collaborative final 10 minutes of the show.

This is still a work-in-progress and we’ll be collecting source material from the temple and taking it to the studio right up to the day of the event. There will also be a short theatrical performance by Mexican artist Ada Wendy Moira, who has been a source of influence to me so I’m happy to have her with us here.

How exactly will the audience fit in during this silent concert and what does the ‘silent’ concept add to the whole experience?

Our history, including Ħaħar Qim, is something we should observe and reflect upon. Reflection is a very personal activity and we want to nurture this thinking.

After putting on the headphones, listeners are enclosed within themselves and can absorb all the details inside the music. We’ve worked with head­phones twice before, especially during the launch of my album Opus Ena at the National Museum of Fine Arts, where it contributed to a highly successful night.

We also used it for Lore of the sea, a theatre performance at the Maritime Museum.

www.cygnamusic.com

bugeja.michael@gmail.com

Oracle will be staged on Friday at 6.30 p.m. Entrance is €25. For tickets and more information, e-mail pr@rubber-bodies.com or call 9960 2888.

www.rubber-bodies.com