The "Midsummer Vilnius" festival, which will be held in the heart of the capital, on July 26. will close the special event - JAV program by Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre, which will also feature Deep Field, a piece of extraordinary beauty that combines science and music.
At the "Midsummer Vilnius" festival, the 50-member choir "Bel Canto" and the Lithuanian chamber orchestra with an additional composition, conducted by Modesto Pitrėnos, will perform the composition conveying scientific discoveries to the listeners and other works of the innovative composer at the "Midsummer Vilnius" festival. During the event, the impression of space travel will be enhanced by special visual effects.
The universe and scientific discoveries are told in the universal language of music
Growing up in Northern Nevada, USA, one of today's most famous composers wanted to be an astronaut as a child. At ten he got his first telescope and spent thousands of hours observing the stars. Growing up, he was interested in physics, but adored music, which became his main passion. Eric's fascination with different disciplines has remained with him to this day and is reflected in his modern and world-changing music creations. Creating abstract or real connections between these sciences provides the basis for new ideas and interesting thoughts.
E. Whitacre was inspired to create the space composition "Deep Field" by pictures taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, which capture the deepest view of the universe known to science so far. Scientists have counted 3000 galaxies billions of light-years away from Earth in the pictures, and each of them shows billions of stars and other cosmic objects. According to the composer, such an important discovery for humanity only once again proved how small we are compared to the boundless universe.
"Inspired to write a composition about this "Deep field" photo, I wrote down my idea, the emotional architecture of the piece - what feelings this piece should bring. It all starts very quietly and slowly, until it eventually builds up to a powerful climax. I wanted the music to sound like the Hubble telescope - disappearing, then flirting with focus, then losing focus again, and finally, at the climax, coming out strongly in full force, like the Deep field photo that changed the world", says E. Whitacre about the creation of the composition .
A short film about the idea behind the Deep Field piece:
The earth-shaking power of music
Bel Canto Choir performed this piece for the first time in 2016. At the Lithuanian National Philharmonic with E. Whitacre himself, he became very popular. It was only the third time the piece had been performed in the world.
The piece performed three years ago in Vilnius was deeply stuck in the memory of the members of the Bel Canto choir. Deep Field's performance is impressive. The music gradually develops from minimal motifs to an overwhelmingly powerful climax worthy of properly depicting the unfathomable size of the cosmos. When we performed "Deep Field" at the National Philharmonic, we could physically feel the floor shaking under our feet and the whole building vibrating. And I'm not exaggerating at all!", "Bel Canto" chorister Evaldas Stulgaitis shared his impressions.
E. Whitacre's work was designed so that each viewer would have a unique experience and feel a part of this "Deep field" moment and fantasize about a magnificent and infinite universe. During the festival, this feeling will be strengthened by the fact that a concert viewers will watch under the open starry sky - it will be even easier to feel part of the boundless cosmos.
Spectators at the concert will also be able to become a part of the piece's performance by downloading a special mobile app to their smartphones, the sound of which will be combined with the music performed by the choir and orchestra.
The organizers of "Midsummer Vilnius" have already presented all the events of this year's festival, including "Mantas: Rhapsody Recomposed", exclusive concerts of Andrias Mamontova and Jazzu, the group "Garbanotas" together with the wind ensemble, the performance "Master of Hunger" by Eimuntas Nekrošias, Gidon Kremer and " Kremerata Baltica" concert and other.
Tickets for July 15-26 the events of the ongoing "Midsummer Vilnius" festival can be purchased at "Bilietai.lt" ticket offices or online at www.bilietai.lt. More information about the festival "Midsummer Vilnius" on the Facebook account and on the website www.midsummervilnius.com.
