The Great Wayfinders (Höhlenmusik)
The Digital Cave – Marcus Schmickler: The Great Wayfinders I–IX
The Great Wayfinders leads us into a speculative journey where the origins of music, digital culture, and ancient ritual intertwine. Inspired by the allegory of Hansel and Gretel, the chamber opera follows two children navigating the “digital Stone Age,” guided by voices both caring and uncanny. Their path is marked by breadcrumbs of sound—an exploration of digitality through music, myth, and memory.
The work combines the raw power of ancient instruments (including a replica of a 35,000-year-old bone flute) with the radical sonic world of Harry Partch’s Just Intonation creations, all in dialogue with computer-generated soundscapes. Tim Berresheim’s stage design, drawn from 3D scans of UNESCO-listed caves in the Danube Valley, frames the performance as both archaeology and science fiction. Ensemble Musikfabrik and Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart bring these sound-worlds to life, where archaic echoes meet futuristic acoustics, and the past resounds as a mirror of our digital present.
Kompositionsauftrag des Kunstmuseums Stuttgart
Marcus Schmickler und Tim Berresheim danken Marie Te Hapuku, dem Urgeschichtlichen Museum Blaubeuren, Friederike Potengowski, Hannes Wiedman, Barbara Spreer, Leon Monschauer, Ulrike Groos.
The Great Wayfinders leads us into a speculative journey where the origins of music, digital culture, and ancient ritual intertwine. Inspired by the allegory of Hansel and Gretel, the chamber opera follows two children navigating the “digital Stone Age,” guided by voices both caring and uncanny. Their path is marked by breadcrumbs of sound—an exploration of digitality through music, myth, and memory.
The work combines the raw power of ancient instruments (including a replica of a 35,000-year-old bone flute) with the radical sonic world of Harry Partch’s Just Intonation creations, all in dialogue with computer-generated soundscapes. Tim Berresheim’s stage design, drawn from 3D scans of UNESCO-listed caves in the Danube Valley, frames the performance as both archaeology and science fiction. Ensemble Musikfabrik and Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart bring these sound-worlds to life, where archaic echoes meet futuristic acoustics, and the past resounds as a mirror of our digital present.
Kompositionsauftrag des Kunstmuseums Stuttgart
Marcus Schmickler und Tim Berresheim danken Marie Te Hapuku, dem Urgeschichtlichen Museum Blaubeuren, Friederike Potengowski, Hannes Wiedman, Barbara Spreer, Leon Monschauer, Ulrike Groos.
Chamber Opera for Ensemble with Partch Instruments and Computer
Marcus Schmickler: Komposition, Libretto, Live Elektronik
NESS Implementation: Tom Mudd, Dennis Scheiba
Pointcloud Sonification: Julian Rohrhuber
Projektmanagement: Michael Bölter, Jakob Berger
Bühne: Bernd Layendecker, Holger Fleck
Tontechnik: Timo Kleinemeier
Kuratorium: Stefanie Ufrecht
Neue Vocalsolisten
Johanna Vargas, Sopran
Helena Sorokina, Mezzosopran
Andreas Fischer, Bass
Ensemble Musikfabrik
Sara Cubarsi,
Yukari Yagi,
Benjamin Kobler,
Carl Rosman,
Dirk Rothbrust