WHAT REMAINS
Performance
trycheln*, mallet drum sticks, head torches
performed by Nikalus Achermann, Manuel Gloor, Lea Kuster, Carla Maurer
& the artist
on November 11, 2022
in the Art Museum Lucerne
/ 2022
* «Trycheln» are large cowbells made of hammered sheet metal. They are lighter than bells, which are made of cast metal. «Trycheln» are mainly found in the northern Alpine region. They are used in carnival and New Year's Eve customs and during the Santa Claus procession in Switzerland. Their sound and noise are said to drive away evil spirits during the dark season.
Since autumn 2020, in Switzerland, the bells are also used for Anti-Covid rallies.
The rooms of the museum are dark. Each performer wear a head torche, a «Trychel» and a pair of mallet drum sticks. Throughout the performance the group moves through 3 big rooms of the Art Museum Lucerne.
The performance is an attempt to find new ways of working with the sound of the «Trychel». The focus is on the sound-spatial aspects and the active listening to the sounds. The performers move in the dark rooms of the Art Museum, partly in a group, partly alone. They communicate primarily through their hearing and the sounds they produce with the bells. The rooms of the Art Museum become resonance spaces. The listeners can move freely in the rooms and around the performance, defining their own listening perspective themselfs. The work was commissioned by the Arts Commission of the City of Lucerne. The sound was recorded from an audience perspective and will be later handed over to the Art Collection City of Lucerne.