Fanfara Gdansk

A preliminary investigation and continuous progress report. Confidential and for internal use only.

The story of...

During 2020-21 Gívan Belá is working on a performance work, in collaboration with Laznia Gdansk, to function as an opening event of the exhibition 'Sense Perception' by Hungarian-Canadian artist-curator-traveller-critic-organizer-writer-... Nina Czegledy in September 2021. The piece is a community based and participative work, performed in open air, and based on the same principles as Fanfara Hranice (2011, 2018).

In February 2020 we visited Laznia, and worked on the necessary prospection, for developing the piece. Both venues where the performances will take place belong to quite different neighbourhoods. Though a similar approach for the 2 parts of the performances is being followed, the result, with the surrounding citizens, will be different. Apart from an extensive series of field recordings around Laznia 2 (the harbour) and Laznia 1 (the city), we worked out a further plan of action, meeting the experimental choir 441 Hz and Anna Wilczewska. Meantime the renowned luthier Hubert Połoniewicz, is making a replica of the mysterious medieval instrument, the geśle gdanskie. We accomplished 26 hours of field recordings as an initial sound material collection, for further analysis and re-generation electronically. We came back home and started to work preparing the initial the score for the choir. BirdSongs is the working title.

Somehow the pandemic lockdown of borders and cities came in the way, maybe the political tendencies in Europe, to discredit the independence of art and culture, as well. But art, culture and the social are in flux, and from a mansion in the highlands, surrounded by natural sounds, we continue to work.

Fanfara Gdansk consists of 3 parallell groups:

The 441 Hz Choir (20-30 moving singers), with director Anna Wilczewska;

Youngsters making their own LOVMI's (10 Low Voltage Music Instruments with IOT sensors)- notice that this can be wired into the live generated version of the score for the choir, and the electronic parts of the DIY-Gęśle instruments;

Additional musicians and sound artists (10 DIY instruments based on the mythological Gęśle Gdańska).

What we are working on now:

the making of an initial score for the choir, and its dynamical changes later on while adding the other groups, including the choreography which is the blueprint also for the interactions with the score;

the preparation of prototype raspberry pi's with footstep and environment sensors, and code examples for later workshops with youngsters (8-11, 12-17 years old);

the 3D models for building modified DIY geśle gdanskie instruments (no one knows how this archeological recent find was played).

The making of...

We are updating the information about the relevant sections below...

BirdSongs, the Fanfara Gdansk score

dva[2]metri, the Fanfara Gdansk choreography and overall movements on all levels

LOVMi&Sensors the electronic portable gear, with wireless sensors

The Communication an overview of the communication between Laznia and us

choirrehearsalgdansk.mp3
oliwa-organ-gdansk.mp3