What would happen if there were a United Organization of Organisms, called UOO (uh-oh)
where each species gets one vote?
Would mankind be voted off the planet?
Would we be rejected by the biosphere as a virulent organism?
We are nature,
we are not separate from it
It's a natural gift we have
It is just
Recalling it
It is just
Reclaiming it
It is just
Re-enchanting it

(Text by Birsen Uçar for PAST >| ORALE)

The transdisciplinary performance PAST >I ORALE, a collaboration between Zefiro Torna and SEADS, links Beethoven to the theme of nature versus man, society and science. Philosophical common tread is the optimism of progress as reflected in his allegorical ballet Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus. Here, Beethoven presents a titan who brings fire to earth and thus frees man from the dictates of the gods, through science, art and a new morality.

A similar optimism of progress characterizes the DNA of the international transdisciplinary network of artists, scientists, engineers and activists SEADS. This new self-confident generation emphasizes an increasing psychological connection of all people, supported by advanced means of communication and a further computerization of society.

PAST >I ORALE is designed as an utopian ecosystem in which humans, micro-organisms and technology enter into a symbiotic relationship. Musical motifs from Beethoven’s famous Sixth ‘Pastoral’ Symphony form the building blocks of new compositions. Songs from the cycle An die ferne Geliebte or fragments from the 5th Cello Sonata mutate and are accompanied by ambient music, sound art, spoken word and alternative pop music.

Sound shapes an ecology of microscopic life forms: sound frequencies and musical patterns influence the conditions in which this living matter finds itself. This hidden world becomes visible to the audience and performers through microscopic image capture and projection. The result is an eccentric biotope in which hybrid sounds transport the listener / observer ‘im glückliche Fahrt’ to a new time and space.