Archive Event III – Clavicembalo Assimilato
MouseEar
7 March 2020

A one-day tailor made concert

Throughout its history as a cardboard factory, beer bottling plant, and its current use as an exhibition space, Looiersgracht 60 has had many functions - all of which have left their trace on the building, inspiring the launch of the Archive Series. Stemming from Looiersgracht 60’s commitment to preservation and to promoting dialogue between the past and the present, the Archive Series events are unique, site-specific temporary installations investigating the theme of archiving, combined with theoretical talks and discussions with the artist.

For the third edition of the Archive Series, Looiersgracht 60 is excited to collaborate with MouseEar and present ‘new-music virtuoso’ Goska Isphording in a one-day programme of contemporary music for harpsichord and electronics. Technologies from the 15th and 21st centuries will be combined to create a sonic landscape.

MouseEar has thoughtfully selected an array of eminent composers who in turn reflect on the process of archiving through the orchestration of exceptional sound materials. Archival elements are used in their compositions, such as the fusion of live and recorded sounds, thereby creating a work engaged with both the past and present. An interactive work by the composer and sound artist Yannis Kyriakides (b.1969, Cyprus) which explores a visual archive of images by Isabelle Vigier based on Thomas Platter’s Travels in England (1599) is presented. Where Kyriakides draws upon a visual archive, in “Voices and Piano”, the composer Peter Ablinger (b.1959, Austria) uses a catalogue of recorded voices accompanied by a keyboard instrument to create a duet that takes place simultaneously in an archived past and an unfolding present. “Incorporate No. 3”, written by Polish composer Kuba Krzewiński (b.1988) explores the corporeal archive of the performer and how the harpsichord is incorporated into, or even becomes an extension of, the musician’s body.

Goska Isphording’s concert explores the role of archives in music involving processed sound. Her ethereal performance offers listeners the rare chance to hear pieces composed principally in the past two decades and challenges their understanding of archives and historical instruments. Whereas many archives are preserved from changes to endure time, this performance embraces the living potential of archived music, finding new purposes and continuity.

Goska Isphording
The harpsichordist Goska Isphording (Poland) enjoys an international performing career as soloist and chamber musician, having appeared at such festivals as Gaudeamus Week, ISCM World Music Days, and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, among others. She is also active in commissioning new works for the harpsichord, several of which will be performed in this concert. Isphording currently teaches contemporary harpsichord techniques at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

MouseEar Concerts
MouseEar emerged from the desire of two exceptional keyboardists, Artem Belogurov and Menno van Delft, to revitalise performance traditions of the past. The focal point of MouseEar is an electrifying, reimagining of the concert-going experience of the present day. The platform aims to promote the rich and diverse repertoire for historical keyboard instruments through presenting concerts, lectures and workshops given by established and young artists from around the world.

Performance: 16:00 – 18:00. Drinks: 18:00 – 19:00. Admission for this concert is free. However, please note there are limited places available, so please reserve a seat by emailing: info@looiersgracht60.org

For more information about our previous archive events, please have a look here:
Archive Event I - Imprinted Mater
Archive Event II - Shelf Life