Die Reihe

Die Reihe (tone row, note row, series, set) refers to a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in a musical set theory of the chromatic scale.

In this choreographic miniature, Kamiński follows a formal construction of the Prologue from Funeral Music for Strings by Witold Lutosławski: he uses the twelve-tone row principle in order to develop the twelve-movement vocabulary of the performance. Consequently, he composes a choreography as a series of alternating canons of movements, based exclusively on two intervals (differences between two pitches – two movements): tritones and minor seconds. In the performance, the geometry of embodied gestures amalgamates, resonates, and grates with the emotionality of the music, creating a reciprocal entanglement.

What I have achieved in this work is rather a set of ways which enable me to move with some sense within the twelve tones (…). It is a beginning of a new period and a result of my long experience. I tried to create a range of means that would become my own. And it is the first word – though obviously not the last one – spoken in what is a new language for me.
Witold Lutosławski

Something elusive and unsaid is appearing here, something that is constantly transforming in the moments of synchronization with the music. It activates an alternate spiral of movement, sound and the stall of silence.

Ramona Śmieszek, Rozświetlamy Kulturę

CREDITS


Die Reihe
2013, performance, 15 min

Choreography & Performance: Przemek Kamiński
Music: Witold Lutosławski (Prologue from the Funeral Music for Strings)

Artistic advice: Maria Stokłosa



Created in the frame of Lutospheres project as a part of The Year of Lutosławski celebrated under the auspices of UNESCO for the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth
production: Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, f.o.r.t.e. Foundation, Burdąg Foundation