AT FIRST

In 150 fragments, musical, poetic, religious and scientific documents of reality are presented, first in a room installation, later online and finally as a hybrid performance the different perspectives in one of 811224658200596460212745594236798790205083615649983564850435005284264186875025357507402437737874120666391754877520719103451679166562304000000000000000000000000 or 5. 811225 times 10 to the power of 169 possible permutations brought to the performance.

The project AM ANFANG - co-produced by the Humboldt Forum - reflects the experience that the world is contradictory and thus also the description(s) of world. Although we are aware of the simultaneity of different perspectives on our existence, we settle indifferently into our own existences, into our own worlds, with our own perspectives on them. Interestingly, the narratives about the beginning of everything differ fundamentally: some believe that God created the world. Others believe in the scientific theory of the Big Bang. The Dogon people of West Mali hand down the myth of a fraternal twin who impatiently escapes from the womb, with a piece of the placenta falling off, leading to the creation of the earth. Also, the Dogon have been in possession of astronomical knowledge about the invisible companion of the Sirius star and its trajectory since time immemorial. The existence of this star could only be confirmed by astrophysics at the end of the 20th century.

The project AM ANFANG is intended to make clear that our knowledge always only allows us apparent certainties, with the help of which we distinguish ourselves from the "others". But in fact, every certainty is only further proof of the limitations of all human perception and insight. We are one in the realisation that every view of the world only depicts a singular, anthropocentric fragment of reality. In Hall 2, a twelve-metre hexagon will form a mythical space in which the audience can experience the simultaneous singing of the creation stories of the Dogon and the nomadic Malian Peulh people, contrasted with scientific views of the creation story. The installation is open during the day; for the evening events, the dancers and musicians perform in the installation.

Participants
Marc Sinan - artistic direction, composition, guitar
In his work, Marc Sinan explores new ways of collaboration between artists in a transcultural and transmedial context. He usually works
He works mostly as composer, artistic director, guitarist and producer with his own ensemble, the Marc Sinan Company, as well as with changing international guests and institutional partners. Recordings of his works are released by ECM Records. He lives and works in Berlin. His works address current socio-political issues. They are performed internationally and have been guests at festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Istanbul Festival, MaerzMusik as well as at the Oper Halle, Oper Wuppertal, Theater Bremen, Humboldt Forum Berlin, the Gorki Theater and the Wiener Konzerthaus. Sinan has collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Philharmonie Jena, Staatskapelle Weimar, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, Dresdner Sinfoniker, No Borders Orchestra, Ensemble ConTempo Beijing, Belgrade Ensemble Metamorphosis, Sonar Quartett, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Medienkollektiv schnellebuntebilder, Iva Bittová, Oğuz Büyükberber, Jörg Widmann, Kayhan Kalhor and countless other ensembles, musicians and artists.

Kettly Noël - Choreography, Dance
A Haitian-born dancer, choreographer and actress, Kettly Noël has lived in Bamako, Mali, since 1999 and tours internationally. Her first creation, Dans Lacour, from 1996, is a groundbreaking piece influenced by Haitian voodoo culture that delves into the animistic universe of the island. At the same time, she explored the roots of modern African dance. Today, Kettly Noël directs the international contemporary dance festival Dense Bamako Danse, which she founded in 2003, as well as the Donko Seko cultural centre, a space for training, choreographic creation and development of contemporary dance as a tool for socialisation. In 2017, she was invited to documenta 14, for which she created the installation and performance Zombification.

Djiguiya Orchestra
Founded in 2019, this orchestra from Bamako combines traditional instruments from Mali with European music to create a special transcultural exchange. Singer and Kamale Ngoni player Lassine Koné joins Habib Sangaré on the bolon and calabash, and Joel Diarra, balafon virtuoso, to form an extraordinary ensemble.Marc Sinan Company Since 2008, the Marc Sinan Company (MS/C) has continued to raise its profile and global network. The independent ensemble around the composer and guitarist Marc Sinan realises its award-winning transmedial and at the same time transcultural projects with an interdisciplinary team and international guests. The permanent cast includes clarinettist and electronic musician Oguz Büyükberber, percussionist Daniel Eichholz, author Maike Wetzel, producer Eric Nikodym, dramaturge Holger Kuhla and sound designer Karsten Lipp. Among the renowned guests are, for example, Iva Bittová, Kettly Noël (Mali), Ulzhan Baibussynova (Kazakhstan), Ensemble ConTempo Beijing (China), the Djiguiya Orchestra (Mali), Damian and Delaine Le Bas (UK) and the media collective schnellebuntebilder. The company is a regular guest at top-class festivals and venues with a changing line-up - most recently in India, Turkey and the USA. Cooperation partners include the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the Bühnen Halle, the Dresdner Sinfoniker and the Humboldt Forum Berlin. The MS\C's projects have received several awards, e.g. from UNESCO.

Neue Vokalsolisten Stuttgart
The Neue Vocalsolisten see themselves above all as explorers and discoverers. In order to pave the way for the new, they regularly work together with established and young composers. Over the past 20 years, a repertoire of vocal chamber music has emerged that is unique worldwide. The Neue Vocalsolisten are particularly active on the terrain of contemporary music theatre, which is characterised by electronic media, video and conceptual art. Against this interdisciplinary background, they have formed the genre of vocal chamber music theatre, including works by Georges Aperghis, Carola Bauckholt, Luciano Berio, Luca Francesconi, Lucia Ronchetti, Oscar Strasnoy and Claude Vivier. The ensemble's partners are always top-class specialist ensembles and orchestras, international opera houses, the independent theatre scene, electronic studios and numerous organisers of festivals and concert series of new music all over the world.

AM ANFANG / AT FIRST can be experienced twice: During the day, Hall 2 is open to experience a video installation.

- Price of the performance 16.00 EUR / 8.00 EUR reduced
- Installation free of charge
- Hall 2