Action ! – Festival 33,7

Cathy Van Eck (*BE, 1979)
Empty Chairs (2018) for three chairs, sensors, live electronics, three
loudspeakers, one microphone and one performer – 8’
Empty Chairs stages three empty chairs, each with a loudspeaker attached. A system of live recorded sounds and electronic processing brings them to life. A performer interacts with the chairs by moving them, placing them in new formations, and trying out different positions.
A microphone placed in the middle of the room is looking for utterances and reminiscences of people who once sat on those chairs.

Catherine Kontz (*LU, 1976)
Snakes and Ladders (2018) for 2-8 players (musicians, dancers, non-musicians, suitable for adults or kids) – 10’
This game-score is derived from the classic Snakes and Ladders, a game in which players compete to be the first to reach the end tile. In this musical version, each performer takes on the role of a game-piece, and uses one or more musical instruments (including their voice), object(s), and/or their body to interpret the instructions on the board.

Fátima Fonte (*PT, 1983)
The Sleep Collector (2022) for percussion, flute, violoncello – 10’ World Premiere
Commissioned by United Instruments of Lucilin for the project 33,7 – Esch2022 European Capital of Culture, with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
“Sleep is like a cat: it only comes to you if you ignore it.” (Gillian Flynn, in “Gone Girl”, 2012) What happens when we cannot sleep? Attempting to fall asleep by sheer willpower is known to be counterproductive – but how to attain the sweet abandon that leads to sleep, when something so essential eludes us? This piece starts with the realisation that the night will be infinite, followed by a choreography of rituals that allegedly help to induce sleep. Although these rituals are
meant to give comfort, they keep failing, thus extending the restless process of trying to rest.

With: André Pons-Valdès (violin), Ingrid Schoenlaub (violoncello), Païvi Kauffmann
(flute), Louisa Marxen (percussion)