Commission to François Sarhan

Our time is now referred to as the 6th mass extinction. In addition to climate change, it is estimated that between 50 and 85% of species will disappear by the end of the century. These massive changes (catastrophes) will have an immense impact on the human species, which at some point also raises the question of what role art plays, how artists can produce, for whom and under what conditions.

The theme of Analogies is to propose fictitious solutions for how we musicians can produce music in the troubled times of the Anthropocene, climate wars and geopolitical mutations. The concert installation Analogies is the second step in the collaboration between Ensemble Zafraan and composer François Sarhan, made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. The first step, ongoing since 2020, is a series of musical moments called LOG BOOK that use everyday events in chronological order: a kind of musical diary. This project culminated in a card game in 2024.

Analogies suggests an immersive and contemplative time. The usual categories (musician, sound, concert, beginning/end, animate/inanimate) are no longer used here. Instead, situations are proposed that are constructed through stories and actions inspired by non-European societies such as the Zuni, the Iakoutsk, the Yanomami, etc. These societies (whose world view is animistic and analogistic) give equal importance to humans and non-human beings, such as insects, the shape of clouds or the colour of a tree. They do not consider human musical production as art, but as a means of communication between species that do not speak the same language. Their relationship with the environment is not based on the principle of the ‘exception of humanity’, which implicitly gives humanity the right to exploit, modify and possibly destroy the environment. Instead, these societies are based on non-rational and unproven forces and beings (spirits, gods, ancestors, myths) that give them a set of rules for interpreting the world, for explaining the world.

In Analogies, the audience is invited to wander, sit, walk and present interpretations, adaptations and variations of some of these world explanations during the performance.

Further information:
zafraanensemble.com

Dates

May 11, 2025
Alte Münze, Berlin

May 16, 2025
Kulturfabrik, Esch

May 18, 2025
Fachwerk, Allschwil

June 13, 2025
resonanzraum, Hamburg