Nik Bärtsch’s MOBILE EXTENDED SPIRAL SPACE II – Acoustic Luminescence

Last year was just the beginning. With his band Mobile Extended, Swiss composer and pianist Nik Bärtsch spent four hours at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg celebrating his ritualistic, uniquely funky grooves, creating soundscapes that seemed to correspond in an abstract way with the building’s architecture, which is modeled after a double helix. The experiment—presenting spiritual soundscapes in a scientific space—was a spectacular success. This year, the project is being further developed: “Spiral Space II – acoustic luminescence” is a specially created night-time composition that begins on november 7 at sunset (at 4:54 p.m.) and ends on november 8 at sunrise (at 7:25 a.m.). Music, light, visuals, and texts unfold in the space to form a poetic-musical tapestry. As a guest, spoken-word artist Christian Reiner—whose evocative recitation of Hölderlin’s “Tower Poems” was released by ECM—will read short lyrical, scientific, and philosophy-of-science texts. By the way, you’re free to move around the building during the performance. The concert concludes with a communal breakfast on the top floor of the building. And for those who haven’t had enough after this night, simply head over to Nik Bärtsch’s matinee at SAS in Haarlass in the morning.