!SING musica enchiriadis
The discovery of polyphony
Photo: Nicole Cronauge
A project of Domschatzkammer Essen, Folkwang University, Catholic Academy ”Die Wolfsburg“, Philharmonie Essen and the Cultural Capital of Europe 2010, Ruhr.2010.
The !SING project musica enchiriadis shows impressively how deep the cultural roots of the Ruhr-area reach and how strong the influences once were that emanated from the Benedictine Abbey of Werden. This is testified to by many valuable manuscripts, amongst them „Musica et Scholica Enchiriadis“. It was written in the year 900 AD and attributed to Abbot Hoger.
This manuscript, the oldest testament of polyphonic music in the West, shows how a second part can be added to a chant that would have formerly been sung in unison, without disturbing its musical purity.Two voices sing different parts, and yet still the idea of divine harmony is expressed in song.
What defines notions of Western music today only became possible with the beginning of polyphonic music. In this respect, musica enchiriadis is a symbolic document for an anthropological, theological and musicological time of transformation.
Musica enchiriadis shows that art and culture are the harbingers of future intellectual transformations. At the same time they enable further social and spiritual self-realisation. Art and culture reflect times of historical transition and preserve them in the collective memory.
To accompany the project, consisting of concerts, conferences and an exhibition, a program book will be published.
Contact:
Catholic Academy "Die Wolfsburg"
Dr. phil. Michael Schlagheck
Falkenweg 6
45478 Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany
E-Mail: michael.schlagheck@bistum-essen.de
www.die-wolfsburg.de