Incognito ergo sum / Overtone singing marathon / PhD Defense

The Academy of Creative and Performing Arts  of Leiden University has the pleasure to invite you for the following events, which are an integral part of the PhD-defense for the dissertation Thresholds of the Audible: about the Multiphony of the Body (Grenzen van het hoorbare: over de meerstemmigheid van het lichaam) .

Incognito ergo sum

Cogito ergo sum (Descartes): I think, therefore I am Incognito: hiding the identity

Incognito ergo sum. The famous expression of René Descartes, adapted to the 21st century, is the guiding principle for the sonic explorations of the Superstringtrio. This trio does not play strings, neither does it count three members. Parallel to physicists, who try to uncover the laws underlying the subtle vibrations of invisible ‘matter’, the Superstringtrio digs into the hidden order and chaos of tones. It asks itself: Do we use music to see ourselves or does music use us to see itself?

The technique of overtone singing is one of the points of departure of Mark van Tongeren’s research Thresholds of the audible, an exploration into the role of harmonics and timbre of the voice. In this performance overtones that appear implicitly as byproducts of vowelsounds (as in The Ground beneath my Ears) are alternated with explicitly sung and clearly audible overtones like those of the Permutationes. In these Permutationes, which are part of the composition cycle 0…), the Superstringtrio penetrates deeply into the matrix of the overtone series. The unique qualities and ratios of the chords of harmonics lead us to a zeropoint (0.) of auditory perception.

The price that has to be paid to answer their questions, is nothing less than the extinguishing of their identity as singers. Eventually they realise that they are not the virtuoso masters on their musical terrain. They give in to the patterns of sound that shape them. That’s why they decide to no longer choose their harmonies, but to let the harmonic series meet itself. They enter unheard, sung space on the thresholds of the human and the inhuman ….

Performers: Rollin Rachele, voice Mark van Tongeren, voice Daphne van Tongeren, light-performance Maksim Shaposhnikov: speaker Artistic direction: Horst Rickels

Sunday 10 and Tuesday 12 March, 2013.
Doors open 18:00. Start 18:30.
Plantage Doklaan 8-12, 1018 CM Amsterdam.
Tram 9, 14, stop at Plantage Middenlaan.
Parking: Waterlooplein. See http://www.dokzaal.nl

If you wish to attend we appreciate you let us know by sending an email to grenzenvanhethoorbare@gmail.com.

0…: an overtone singing marathon for two singers

In a small office space on Rapenburg 38 (Leiden) with excellent acoustics, the first recordings of the 0… (‘Zeropoints’) were once made. This is a cycle of compositions dealing with voice, harmonics and timbre, composed by Mark van Tongeren as part of his PhD research. In preparation of the second performance and the defense of the thesis, singer Rollin Rachele and the PhD-to-be will lock themselves up in this quiet space in the historic centre of Leiden, in order to engulf visitors for three hours in unheard-of combinations of fundamentals and harmonics. During this marathon one to four listeners a time are permitted into the tiny room. For each visit the singers will perform a custom-made constellation of fundamentals and overtones, skillfully selected by composer Paul Oomen from van Tongeren’s Permutationes. Point of departure is all the time a “dry”, systematic execution of the 0…. While doing that, the singers and the composer let themselves be led by the unique personality of a single Permutatio ánd that of the visitor for whom the 0. is sung. Thus we add the meat to the bones of the 0…. A unique chance to have your own ‘harmonic constellation’ (according to us) interpreted in real, musical time! Everything is recorded professionally, so if you visit, your personalised Permutation may end up on a future Superstringtrio cd or website. Without speaking, and with the help of gestures and signals, a long, ongoing composition unfolds. Mark van Tongeren has said this about the Permutationes: “The voices of Rollin Rachele and myself are not so much trying to expose virtuosity, or the miraculous side of overtone singing, but on the contrary, to focus on the most elementary, and sometimes even child-like structures of the overtone series. I did not want to add something to the existing forms of overtone singing. Something had to be left out. In this way I would reach a certain zeropoint in the realm of our auditory world. The Permutationes are the answer to this question.” The results, however, are far from simple: the Permutationes bring forth strange chord sequences and allows listeners to become conscious of sound layers and sound effects that they do not normally hear in human voices.

Performers: Rollin Rachele, Mark van Tongeren: voice Paul Oomen: live compositional direction
Monday 11 March, 2013, from 13:30 till 16:30.

You may visit at any moment during this time period, but because of a very limited space, each time only one to four listeners are permitted into the room, depending on the busyness. Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, Rapenburg 38, Leiden. Public Defense Mark van Tongeren defends his PhD thesis Grenzen van het hoorbare: over de meerstemmigheid van het lichaam. In our culture, vocal harmonics function as independent musical elements since only a few decades. Thresholds of the audible explores the changing relationship between singers, listeners and harmonics. As a research method a series of compositions (Nulpunten/’Zeropoints’) has been developed, which attempt to make a fresh approach to overtone singing and to the sonic source material of the human body. They spark off further investigations of reality and illusion of our auditory world. Using his experiences with Tibetan monks and Sardinian brotherhoods and the ‘transverbal’ oeuvre of Michael Vetter, Mark van Tongeren develops his notion ‘multiphony of the body’. The last word, according to him, must be given to readers/listeners, who are challenged to shift their thresholds of the audible with the cd It starts here and the performance Incognito ergo sum.

Supervisors: Prof. Frans de Ruiter, Prof. Dr. Ben Arps, Dr. Marcel Cobussen, Prof. Dr. Joep Bor Wednesday 13 March, 13:45 Academiegebouw. Rapenburg 73, Leiden

If you wish to attend, we appreciate you let us know by sending an email to t.soekkha@hum.leidenuniv.nl, or phone: 071 – 5272999.

The Superstringtrio
The Superstringtrio does not play strings, counts two permanent members and sustains a holy belief in illusions. Parallel to physicists, who try to uncover the laws underlying the subtle vibrations of invisible ‘matter’, the Superstringtrio digs into the hidden order and chaos of tones. It asks itself: Do we use music to see ourselves or does music use us to see itself?

DSCF6302 WebRollin Rachele (Photography: Jochem Hartz)

Rollin Rachele ( www.overtonesinging.com) performs, teaches and composes music all over the world and is involved in many collaborative projects involving music and theatre. His specialisation is Overtone Singing which he has been perfecting since 1979. He has recently finished a 4 year BMus programme studying Hindustani vocal music through Trinity Laban at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in London. He works regularly with Unstructured Light, a multi-disciplinary theatre group. He has also produced an English book for learning and perfecting overtone singing techniques (for which he is currently preparing the new, third edition), a music video and 3 music cds.

MvT RR(rug) blinddoek Web Mark van Tongeren ( Photography: Jochem Hartz)

Mark van Tongeren is musicologist, singer and sound artist. In 1993 he travelled to South-Siberia for the first time in order to study throat singing, in which one singer produces several tones simultaneously. He is well-known for his work as a scholar and performer of overtone singing. He published an English book on the subject, which is regarded as a reference work. As a musician / performer / researcher Van Tongeren has always investigated the limits of the human voice, of sound and music, and of hearing in general.

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