Who’d have thought that snow falls

Matthias Schönijahn

Germany/Ukraine
Video-chor-sound installation, 80 minutes

Three large-format screens hang like windows in empty space. On them are pictures – of landscapes from the Luhansk region and Ukrainian women. Their songs alternate with a choir that interacts with them live and in dialogue. But although they are separated from each other by time and space, the impression arises of a strong connection between the two places. This production investigates the effect of voice. How are traumas written in a voice passed down through generations? This performative installation is not only a touching experience of sound and image but can also be understood as a time capsule for future generations.


Matthias Schönijahn works in the fields of visual arts, film, music theatre and performance. Building on “deep listening”, he creates atmospheric videos and installations that combine documentary material, sound and performance. In the spring of 2021, he travelled with a German-Polish-Ukrainian team to the north of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk to meet with singing collectives. The resulting video, vocal and field recordings form the basis for Who'd have thought that snow falls. A Berlin choir of amateur singers acts as a link between the audio-visual installation and the room under the direction of Paulina Miu Kühling. The resulting live songs are in turn combined with videos through the ambient compositions of Berlin-based sound artist Martyna Poznańska.

Supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Fonds Darstellende Künste

Artistic direction, camera, stage design, direction Matthias Schönijahn Live choir Ewa Brokos, Agnieszka Bułacik, Claudia Eckstein, Mina Djordjević, Katharina Fischer, Ola Zielińska, Julia Legezynska, Joana Katarzyna Pietras, Agnieszka Kucharska, Natalia Latecka Film choir Lyudmyla Shulyak, Petro Chepelukha, Valentyna Derkach, Lyudmyla Horshkova, Oksana Hutnyeva, Lyudmyla Ilarionova, Tetyana Kandyba, Yuriy Kuznetsov, Yuriy Maksymenko, Anna Nevidoma, Nataliya Shepilova, Oleh Volkov, Tetyana Zaytseva, Ol’ha Bushlya, Lyubov Molochkova, Mariya Sahradova, Zinayida Skovorodka, Kateryna Tkachenko, Tetyana Hrabchuk, Lyubov Kornienko, Rayisa Shuhaylo, Svitlana Konovalova Composition, sound design Martyna Poznańska, Johannes van Bebber Choir direction, composition choir Paulina Miu Kühling Dramaturgy, choreographic collaboration Rose Beermann Dramaturgy video Ljupcho Temelkovski Light design Maika Knoblich Video editing, sound, technical realisation Johannes Plank Costumes Ewa Brokos Scientific consulting Vlada Rusina Artistic assistance, translation Tereza Yakovyna Production management Birgit Voigt Production management Ukraine Valera Zherih Photos Stefanie Kulisch

Kindly supported by SBG Veranstaltungsservice GmbH

Sponsored by the NATIONALE PERFORMANCE NETZ, Guest Performance Fund for Theatre, which is funded by Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Ministries of Culture and the Arts of the German Länder

2022


Being Moved
Simon Mayer/Kopf Hoch – Austria
Celestial Odyssey
Miltnerová/Knoblochová/Komárek – Czech Republic
Dimanche
Cie Focus & Cie Chaliwaté – Belgium
ERSATZ
AÏE AÏE AÏE – France
Good Night
PRAGAMATA – Germany
KAR
Fekete Seretlek & Studio Damúza – Czech Republic
Le Mains de I’Argentière
Djalma Primordial Science – France
Les Arrière-Mondes
Cie Mossoux-Bonté – Belgium
Madness in the workshop
Tof Théâtre – Belgium
SunBengSitting
Simon Mayer/Kopf Hoch – Austria
Who’d have thought that snow falls
Matthias Schönijahn – Germany/Ukraine
Concert
Fekete Seretlek – Czech Republic
Concert
KAMA Orchestra – Germany

Contact

Address

T-Werk, Internationales Theater- und Theaterpädagogikzentrum
Schiffbauergasse 4 E, 14467 Potsdam, Germany

Telefon

Phone: +49 331 73042626
Fax: +49 331 73042633