RUFEN - mobile Gesangsskulptur
(2005)

Walter Siegfried and Frank Helfrich specifically sought out partners in Munich and the surrounding area who competently represent different singing cultures. After introducing the project, the specific characteristics of the singing cultures represented were explored in individual encounters (with Shankar Lal from India, Layt Abdul Ameer from Iraq, Haruyo Maruyama from Japan, Ndiaga Diop from Senegal). The results of this research formed the basis of the composition, which brings the singing cultures to life in short atmospheric sequences. Choreography The performers moved through the public spaces of the Gasteig according to a precisely calculated choreography. Pre-produced compositional moments (quiet noises, sounds, words) sounded from the loudspeakers they carried with them, which were then spoken and sung live. The composition could only be discovered by a certain part of the audience, depending on where and in what number the actors were at the time. There were more closed, conspicuous passages in which the group as a whole was visible and audible (for example on the large escalator in the glass hall), and isolated, more discreet duet and trio sequences (for example in the stairwells or in the underground parking garage).