For anyone who has two healthy ears, listening is something obvious, which everyone can do. But there is a substantial difference between “hearing” and “listening”. Listening is actually an authentic art, which if practised can greatly enrich our being in the world. Not infrequently even professional musicians are not used to really listening to what they are performing, in the sense of perceiving the occurrence of sounds in the global space-time continuum. In this weekly workshop – that one can join at every time – we want to encourage a sensitive, active and deep listening. Starting from the ideas of artists such as John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Francisco López, R. Murray Schafer and others, participants are introduced to listening to sound and silence, to the sonic landscapes that surround us in the daily life (‘sound walks’ are also planned) as well as to aware, mindful and creative listening of art music and its profound wisdom messages. The listener is not a passive recipient, but a creator!

Guided walks through specific landscapes focusing our attention on the acoustic environment and perceiving consciously the sounds that surround us: the sounds of the elements (water, earth, air, fire), the sounds of insects, birds and other animals, the sounds of humans and of machines, the sound of silence…

We organise thematic study trips to auratic places related to the motifs of the theatrum phonosophicum, with sound walks, lectures, guided tours, listening sessions etc. Each journey is understood as a ‘quest’ in the sense of philosophia perennis. The different routes of this ‘quest’ lie above all in the cultural triangle where we feel more at home: Southern Italy, the German-speaking countries and Armenia.

Every single tone is a cosmos in itself. Paradoxically, each tone contains an infinite number of other tones. Not everyone is aware of the inner life of sound. Only through the art of listening to a long sustained fundamental tone, one begins to perceive crystalline tones, the so-called “overtones” or harmonics. Through the own voice they can become audible and tangible. One discovers the inner world of sound as embodiment of a universal law of all vibrations. And so, one starts to hear overtones not only in the own voice, but everywhere in the acoustic environment. The knowledge of the overtone series is probably that old like making music. However, overtones are also for professional musicians usually only a theoretical matter of acoustics. In this workshop, in a meditative atmosphere, learning simple vocal techniques, one will experience the wonders of the overtone series through the own body in the space. Overtone singing is not about the virtuosity of singing, but of listening. No prior musical knowledge is required.

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All our workshops are open to everybody, not only to musicians.
For more informations about our workshops please contact us via email: theatrumphonosophicum@gmail.com
and stay informed about our announcements on our social networks as well as on our website: https://theatrumphonosophicum.art/
Workshops, ‘sound walks’, journeys and lectures can be booked in English, German, Italian, French or Russian