Chuchchepati Orchestra: Flight of the Bumlebee II
Ludwig Berger, field recordings
Julian Sartorius, drums
Patrick Kessler, double bass, concept
The world record for the interpretation of the onomatopoeic instrumental piece "Flight of the Bumblebee" by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is 53.82 seconds - that's 13 notes per second! With the concert installation "Flight of the Bumblebee II", the Chuchchepati Orchestra counters this trend towards acceleration with the slowest interpretation to date. Designed as a series, only one measure of the composition is interpreted per concert - that's eight notes in 40 minutes.
Field recordings of the complex communication of insects are interwoven with the instrumental sounds of the orchestra. The results are tonal patterns, structures and surfaces that complement and cross-fertilize each other. The Chuchchepati Orchestra takes off, swarming and turning the polyphonic sound space into a blooming playground.
Scientific insect recordings:
Sabina Avosani, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland
Julien Bota, WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Taina Conrad, University of Bayreuth, Germany
Asaf Ben David, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Monika Eberhard, University of Hamburg, Germany
Lionel Feugère & Gabriella Gibson, University of Greenwich, UK
Juan José López Díez, National Institute of Biology, Slovenia
Yi-Chang Liao, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
Matías Muñoz, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Behare Rexhepi, National Institute of Biology, Slovenia
Daniel Torrico, University of Desarrollo, Chile
Meta Virant-Doberlet, National Institute of Biology, Slovenia
Out now:
Double LP - Flight of the Bumblebee II, Unit Records, 2024
