Customary of shocks, formal but also of language, Hector Parra will return on May 11 to the Philharmonie of Cologne with a confrontation which he regularly likes to provoke between baroque and contemporary worlds of sound. Taking for pretext the drama (literally, since the two protagonists commit suicide) Orgia by Pasolini, the eponymous piece by Parra will mobilize two emblematic ensembles, Concerto Köln and Musikfabrik, under the direction of Stefan Asbury.

«Composing Orgia –Irrisorio alito d’aria has been one of the most extraordinary and intense experiences I have ever had. With one of the best Baroque orchestras (Concerto Köln) and the famous ensemble from Cologne who specialise in new creations (Musikfabrik), Orgia –Irrisorio alito d’aria explores an extreme, dialectical and deep hybridisation between J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s tragedy Orgia. In the Passion Jesus redeems humanity by voluntary sacrifice, whilst in Pasolini’s Orgia it’s the protagonist who kills himself as a tragic affirmation of the insurmountable fracture that exists between those who are different in contemporary society. The hangman, dressed as a woman, commits the most powerful and extravagant act imaginable to denounce the tragedy of having overcome his difference, his homosexuality, surrounded by a society full of incomprehension, cruelty and contempt for all minorities.»

Hèctor Parra (April 2018)

Commissioned by ACHT BRÜCKEN/Musik für Köln festival, and the support of Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung

Concert dates

11 may 2018 - MusikFabrik & Concerto Köln , Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne 

Composer's website ➡️ http://www.hectorparra.net/catalogue/orchestra/

Photo © D.R.