MOIRA by HERMESensemble, Catalina Vicens and Kurt D’Haeseleer takes images of the illustrious fourteenth-century Tapestry of the Apocalypse from the castle of Angers as its basic elements. The loom and production of tapestries is the metaphor par excellence for a thriving luxury industry and modernization during the Renaissance and Early Modern Era. Similarly, Renaissance polyphony is a starting point for Daan Janssens’ contemporary compositions. HERMESensemble uses polyphonic phrases by Orlandus Lassus as starting material to project these musical ideas and atmospheres through the centuries.
The material is presented through three chapters, evolving chronologically back in time. The first section – Atropos – offers a dialogue between organetto and AI-generated video. Lachesis, the second part, reflects on the Industrial Revolution in a rhythmic duet for bass clarinet and organetto, carried by electronics. Klotho is the name of the third movement, in which Daan Janssens’ [incipits] accompany the apocalyptic images of the tapestry of Angers.
The visual design for the triptych is inspired by the history of tapestry art and the evolution of technology and craftsmanship. Through an audiovisual fresco, the viewer travels from a post-industrial virtual landscape to the pre-industrial era.
Kurt d'Haeseleer 