The Reintegration of the Ear* is a composition by Christina Vantzou for tape, voice, bass flute and electronics, performed by Irène Kurka, John Also Bennett and herself.

*extended version premiere

Returning to Semibreve, this time to perform at the festival’s largest venue, Christina Vantzou is bringing back a memento of her performance in 2021 with John Also Bennett. During those autumn days, she turned her microphone towards Nature, capturing the sounds of the countryside, especially the sounds of watercourses, to take home with her from Portugal. These recordings, combined with those of other bodies of water with a Mediterranean accent, became veins of sound that run through an electro-acoustic body composed of analogue electronics, voice and flutes in the new work she is now presenting. Not the least expected in a musical score, these are the essential elements of a new substance that, not by chance, moves freely through the ether by means of multi-channel propagation. After having premiered at the GRM in Paris, Semibreve will now hold the first performance of the extended version of “The reintegration of the ear”.

The Reintegration of the Ear is a suite of works for electronics and acoustic sound sources coexisting with natural environments, both terrestrial and subaquatic. Composed of hydrophone recordings from Sifnos, field recordingsfrom the island of Lesvos, silky high frequencies and dewy ARP tones, the work undulates andunfolds with an acute awareness of space.Moving and morphing like the weather and deftlypsychedelic, the sweet haze of late summer permeates the work.Salt, foam, rock, southern windand ripe fruit are conjured and sent intothe cellular level.Featuring a vocal performance fromSoprano Irene Kurka and bass flute performed by frequent collaborator John Also Bennett, the trioenvelope dissolve and disrupt space in equal turns.

Presented by Semibreve  2024 festival in the framework of Re-Imagine Europe: New Perspectives for Action.
Originally commissioned by INA grm in the framework of Re-Imagine Europe: New Perspectives for Action.
Photo credit: Christina Vantzou by Julie Calbert