words: Raquel Pinheiro ; photos André Delhaye
American composer Charlemagne Palestine’s performarnce, , as part of Across Ø Around: Mika Vainio A Tribute was a mesmerizing experience of about 50 minutes.
Imersive is a beaten, too worn word, yet, here, for someone like me, who kept closed eyes, pretty much all the time, it is fitting. And quite descriptive.
Palestine start playing before the audience took its place in the pews. At first, a low, tremble leaning continuous hum. Given Igreja de Cedofeita seating seating, most people had their back turned to the pipe organ balcony, facing the empty altar. Having entering the empty room a little earlier, on the side pew, by the altar, that allows to turn and face the pipe organ and player, I had a prime location for allowing the sound, the music to lead and do its magic.
And its magic was a wonder world of tonal variations complementing, overlapping, at times almost making disappear, at others leaving it fully raw, a continuous hum. A hum, in itself, the same and diverse. The inflections, the detours, the shades, the sounds, the whispers, the tumoultous, all had its place in a linear-nonlinearsublime performance that included words of prayer in a language only known to Charlemagne Palestine’s and a short percutive moment with a couple of filled whisky glasses clacking against it other. A night to remember.
Mondo Bizarre Magazine 