Customers at New Brighton Library were silenced (a rare occurrence!) by a performance from members of the Silencio Ensemble. Metal poles, a sink, old shelving and a cymbal were played by an assortment of hammers, bows and sticks.
Chris, Mike, Reuben and Tom responded to the library’s architecture by suspending poles from the pipeline alongside the buildings main pillars, creating a musical experience for people to listen to from all parts of the building. The sound varied from temple-like tinkering to cacophonous metal hammering.
Customers displayed bemusement, confusion, fascination, curiosity, and horror. The rhythms of the waves coupled with the rhythm of the gongs within our ship-like structure made one person say that it felt like being inside a moving vessel.
This performance is a forerunner to a project being developed for the Christchurch Arts Festival in August. Live music performed by the Ensemble will accompany a screening of the 1948 silent movie, “Joan of Arc”.
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 