Circle of Silence

“Circle of Silence” is a musical performance about longing; an interweaving of languages and musical traditions;
a poetic encounter between northern and southern Europe.

We sit in the circle to listen. Out of the silence, a landscape emerges.
Two figures arrive from different places; crossing, chasing, dancing, overlapping – creating a kind of ritual through which they seek a connection with their own nature.

A voice recites poems about northern twilight landscapes, while an accordion evokes the south, recalling a time when man knew what nature could provide. A primordial memory of a world where the farmer cared for the seed and the shepherd watched his sheep from a distance, while the mystery of life was preserved.

“Circle of Silence” unfolds like a dream; the physical images, dance and voices open up a space where one can relate to a deep natural dimension of listening and receiving – without necessarily understanding.

Background:

The performance is inspired by pre-Christian myths about the fertility goddess, the Goddess of the Earth. In various guises, she has been worshipped in both northern and southern European cults for thousands of years. Especially in the Catholic south of Italy, since the introduction of Christianity, a kind of syncretic fusion with the Virgin Mary, who is a very important saint in the region, has emerged. “Circle of Silence” was created for and premiered in the Maria della Caritá Chapel, as part of the Parthenium Calling Festival, on a hillside outside Naples in the summer of 2022.

Duration: 45 min.