Performative Video-Choir-Sound-Installation
What do female voices from eastern Ukraine reveal beyond words? The installation developed in 2021 searches for acoustic traces and the power of collective singing as a principle of survival. The voices, sounds and images from the Luhansk villages of Bilolutzk, Osinove and Horodyshche echo in the St. Elisabeth Church in Berlin. In this space, also torn apart by war, the chants are accompanied by the live performance of Berlin-based amateur singers exploring their own heritage and unique vocal expression. „Who’d have thought that snow falls“ explores the voice as a testament to joy and fragility, to human experience across generations and borders. Visitors are invited to pause in the immersive setting or take on different (listening) perspectives.
With singers and dancers from the Luhansk villages Bilolutzk Lyudmyla Shulyak, Petro Chepelukha, Valentyna Derkach, Lyudmyla Horshkova, Oksana Hutnyeva, Lyudmyla Ilarionova, Tetyana Kandyba, Yuriy Kuznetsov, Yuriy Maksymenko, Anna Nevidoma, Nataliya Shepilova, Oleh Volkov, Tetyana Zaytseva // Osinove Ol’ha Bushlya, Lyubov Molochkova, Mariya Sahradova (†), Zinayida Skovorodka, Kateryna Tkachenko // Horodyschtsche Tetyana Hrabchuk, Lyubov Kornienko, Rayisa Shuhaylo, Svitlana Konovalova
With Berlin based amateur singers: Agnieszka Bułacik, Ewa Brokos, Claudia Eckstein, Mina Djordjević, Katharina Fischer, Agnieszka Kucharska, Natalia Latecka, Julia Legezynska, Joana Katarzyna Pietras, Ola Zielińska
Artistic direction, camera, video editing, stage design and direction Matthias Schönijahn // choir direction, composition choir Paulina Miu Kühling // composition, sound design Martyna Poznańska // dramaturgy, choreographic collaboration Rose Beermann // co-conception composition, field/choir – recordings – Johannes van Bebber // dramaturgy video Ljupcho Temelkovski // light design Maika Knoblich // outfits Ewa Brokos // video projection, sound, technical set-up Johannes Plank // scientific consulting Vlada Rusina // production management Birgit Voigt // production management Ukraine Valera Zherih // graphic design, artistic assistance, translation Tereza Yakovyna // public relations Mina Djordjević
Supported by Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa, Hauptstadtkulturfonds 2021.
Photos by Stefanie Kulisch
