Instabile Tempus · programme note
The main sources of inspirational impulse are based on current events. Additionally, individual and collective reflection on the world and the 'awareness' of 'life', are essential.
In the process of reflection and awareness, the tripartite division of 'time' emerges. There’s also the need to delimit each of these parts, so that consciously one can avoid the constant 'disorderly pursuit' by our anxieties and the temporal 'amalgam' – the past (remembering), the present (agitation) and the future (questioning).
A question is asked in order to decipher the most effective individual attitude towards the temporal phenomenon. It establishes to establish appropriate levels of importance so that, during the course of life, one feels the 'capacity' to face daily events.
Along with the title,
Instabile Tempus (Uncertain Time), there is a quote (four sentences) introduced in the course of the musical discourse by recorded voices ('human choir without body'). Not only do they point out the climax with the three phrases –
Tempus Praeteritum Nihil (the Past 'is' nothing),
Futurum Incertum (the Future 'is' fickle),
Praesens Instabile (the Present 'is' inconstant) –, but also give advice at the end of the piece:
Cave Ne Perdas Hoc advice tuum (Attention, so you don't waste this moment that is only yours).
In this context, one should also mention the 'murmur' ('uncertain collective') of the vocal 'sounds' by the instrumentalists, which are composed of a mixture of 'real sound' (sung) and 'breath'. Thus, the instrumentalists become not only virtuosos (instrument), but also 'interventional characters'. They establish the connection and 'pass' the testimony to the aforementioned 'bodyless human choir'.
This 'choir' is represented by a set of 'props/ suits' of men and women who occupy a certain space in the performance. Their visual influence comes from a collection of photographic images with 'suits' in shop window displays placed on supports (hangers), without mannequins.
All these factors – thought, reflection, awareness, the influence of visual elements and their use, either as sources of inspirational impulse for the development of ideas or as interventional facets in the piece, 'cohabiting' a cohesive and total, interactive discourse, combined with the multifaceted role of the instrumentalists, as well as the intervention of recorded voices, the scenery/ props, the lighting, … – include this creation in the
transversal multi art approach.
Patrícia Sucena de Almeida
Recorded voices: Diogo Carvalho, Joana Marta Salgado
Stage design and props: Joana Marta Salgado
(Props,
Banana Chiclete Compras &
Vendas a retalho Vintage)
Recording technicians and audio post-production: Gonçalo Vasco, Ricardo Pratas
