Psalm Festival Graz

The human being in the big picture

Studio Percussion Graz: Dancing planets at the Psalm Festival

(Bild: Claudia Tschida)

Studio Percussion Graz traveled to the stars together with astrophysicist Arnold Hanslmeier and singer Susana Sawoff at the Psalm Festival in the List Hall in Graz. "XXX - our place in the universe" made the big picture tangible.

On the second day of Psalm, the essence of the cosmos is explored in the program "XXX - our place in the universe" - and in a very scientific way. In astrophysicist Arnold Hanslmeier, Studio Percussion Graz has invited an expert to explain his profession between the musical numbers: How long does it take light to orbit the earth? How big is our sun in relation to the Milky Way? knowledge that studio director Günter Meinhart and his eight musicians then put into practice in percussive world premieres.

A heartbeat and dancing planets
At the beginning, for example, a heartbeat beats on the bass drum under mystical gong beats as an image of the Big Bang: the projection of the human in a cold universe? In "Eight Planets" by Claudio Spieler, eight frame drums dance rhythmically intricate sun dances as representatives of the planets.

In between, vocalist Susana Sawoff sings songs about relativity and transience in pop or pseudo-baroque garb. The highlight of the highly virtuoso drum show on mallets, drums, body and small percussion is that the music serves as what the professor calls a "fractal": the big picture is reflected in the "small" of art. And thus becomes humanly tangible.