EVENTS : Krakow

9 | 07 | 2021
9.00 PM

Reconstruction

Reconstruction. Today, artists are looking at Jan Matejko’s painting, which became the starting point for an audiovisual installation prepared by Professor Marek Chołoniewski and students of the Intermedia Faculty of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków. Its main idea is based on an audio reconstruction of Renaissance Kraków at the beginning of the 16th century, with particular reference to the canvas of the Krakow master and the acoustic atmosphere that accompanied the hanging of the bell. The buzz of conversations between the dignitaries invited to the ceremony, the comments of royal jester Stańczyk, the remarks of the court architect, the shouts and announcements of Hans Beham, bell-builder, who commanded the entire “operation”, the words of the bishop’s prayer, the sounds of the labourers’ efforts, and finally the uproar of the onlookers all created an unusual sound spectacle. Its audience and performers formed a diverse social structure of medieval Kraków, a peculiar mix of cultures and languages: Polish, Italian, German, Hungarian, Czech or Latin. Such a celebration certainly did not take place without a musical setting, as the most famous lute-player of the time appeared in Matejko’s painting. The sounds produced by the machinery used to hang the bell, weighting over 12 000 kg, up the tower, should not be overlooked either.

The composition was performed on 9 July, 2021 at 9 p.m. in front of the Sigismund Tower.

10-12 | 07 | 2021
10.00 AM – 7.00 PM

Bells of distance

Bells of Distance. Sound installation that use the sound of the bell as a percussion instrument and combine it with the contemporary soundscape of the Wawel Hill is a project by artists associated with the Acoustic Activities Laboratory at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg. Microphones set up in various locations will collect the sounds that were heard in various places: multilingual voices, conversations, the ringing of cathedral bells, cars passing by and other traces of Wawel Hill’s everyday life. The resulting sound material was mixed and transformed by the artists, and the resulting pieces were made available to the public via the website www.500-Sigismundus.com

13 | 07 | 2021
9.00 PM

Latern

Latern. Both sound and light are waves: mechanical and electromagnetic. Is it possible to build a bridge between the two, to convert an acoustic wave into an image and thus see sound? In physics, this phenomenon is known as sonoluminescence and is the subject of intense scientific research. The concept of combining the sound of a bell with laser light will appear in the multimedia performance. On 13 July 1521 Krakow heard the Sigismund Bell ring for the first time. 500 years later, a beam of laser light was triggered by the sound of the bell, thereby becoming a kind of a lighthouse/latern in the city space.

Study for One Bell Stroke, conceived by Prof. Marek Chołoniewski, is an international electroacoustic music competition dedicated to Włodzimierz Kotoński, author of the first Polish electroacoustic composition “Study for One Cymbal Stroke” performed in the Polish Radio Experimental Studio in Warsaw in 1959. The competition was coordinated by the Polish Society of Electroacoustic Music. The Winners Concert took place at the foot of the Wawel Castle / Sigismund Tower on 13 July at 21:00. (www.pseme.com, https://www.facebook.com/611237111/videos/10159689973182112)

Competition results:
Prizes:
1st Prize – Krzysztof Gawlas – Ciprianus Magnus
2nd Prize – Michał Janocha – Omaggio a Kotonski
3rd Prize – Piotr Madej – Sigi 2021
Awards:
Kamil Kosecki – Etiuda na jedno uderzenie w dzwon / Study for One Bell Stroke / Etüde für einen Glockenschlag.
Anna Maria Huszcza – SIG mood
Jan Załęcki – Behemklänge

500×1 and is a concept developed by Prof. Grzegorz Biliński in form of an Open Call and realised by students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków.  Dozens of 1-minute audiovisual compositions/video clips were received from all over the world and used to create a multimedia spectacle presented at the Wawel Castle on July 13, 2021. They were presented in selected areas of the city of Kraków on 10-13 July 2021 (MOS and galleries of Fine Arts Academy). (https://www.facebook.com/611237111/videos/10159692831302112)

AR mobile.
Zygmunt AR by Karina Gorzkowska and Maja Szerel is the augmented reality application that shows visualizations of the spread of sound when you scan the Sigismund Tower by mobile phone. The forms emerging from the tower show an abstract record of the events and times he witnessed. His heart has broken three times, but he still beats and is one of the most important symbols of Krakow.

Location:
-> Exit from Planty, green pedestrian zone to Podzamcze Str. in front of Wawel Castle (9-13.07.2021)
-> around The Cracow House in Nuremberg (17.07.2021)

Filip Czaja’s application 5 Bells AR – 5 x 1 AR. On Wawel there is the Sigismund Tower with five bells: Zygmunt G0, Urban H0, Półzygmunt D1, Cardinal D#1, Wacław D#1. Scan th code. Press Play. Take a look around. See the shape of th waves and hear the musical tones of five bells, including the Sigismund Jubilarian, coming from heaven to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the suspension of the Bell.

More information: