Hans Joachim Irmlers "Eroberung des Raumes" @ Casa da Música, Porto

This site-specific installation investigates the sonic properties of Casa da Musica and is mainly using what architect Rem Koolhaas has described as the "secondary serving spaces" of this unique building: Irmler discovered that the entrance hall / foyer and the various staircases in Casa da Musica are formed like a huge, ancient horn. "Eroberung des Raums" (which is probably best translated to "Conquest of Space") intends to illuminate the contrast of nature and un-nature, and all forms of transitions between these two states.

The idea is to create four acoustic stages or "Stationen" in the foyer (this area impressed Irmler a lot, he felt that it is shaped like the mouth piece of a bass amplifier) and the hallways. These four stations are intended to create a huge swell (or Crescendo to use the musical terminus technicus), starting off from the window on the top level, from which Irmler was planning to send down "tender sounds, comparable to a small bird or a wren", and ending with a massive industrial drone in the entrance hall. This drone’s massive sound texture welcomes and repels the visitors of Casa da Música at the same time.

Composed from 180 individual sound clips as well as utilizing microphones to capture the location sound and re-distribute it in space and time the sound experience of the installation is varying with the position of the listener; one can find her or his own favourite individual sound situation, as all of the four stations create overlapping textures. You can choose between the delicate sweetness of a whisper and brutal noise, between some very fragile nature and the vast furnaces of a technological manmade environment.

Location: Casa da Música, Porto

www.casadamusica.com