Nicolas Jaar and electronic music that becomes sacred
Experimental music as a meditation space and, at the same time, of reflection on the sacred: for over ten years Inner Spaces has been the Milanese review dedicated to sound electronics in a single listening space, the San Fedele center, equipped with an acusmonium system of fifty speakers capable of wrapping the listener. Every now and then, the review moved to the church adjacent to the auditorium. This is what has happened twice with Nicolás Jaar, in spring 2024 and again in these days, in both cases with original productions. Last year it had been the turn of “Hieremias Propheta” sacred representation in seven parts from the book of Jeremiah, with the Leçons de Ténèbres by François Couperin intertwined with electronic sequences, with contributions from the Ars discothic CGE were intertwined with those of Chilean musician. Yesterday, September 21, and today Jaar returned with an original project inspired by the beatitudes, the speech of the mountain in the Gospel of Matteo.
A work in four acts preceded by a prologue by the Ars discussed, the formation of Father Pileggi and Massimo Colombo. Jaar’s main work, on the other hand, Unisva classic tools, Live Electronics and voice, with a minimalist approach: every verse of the Gospel of Matteo is intoned by soprano Beatrice Palumbo, followed by an instrumental response with the various tools that intertwine. Next to Jaar there were Carlo Centemeri (piano and harpsichord), Massimo Colombo (electric guitar), Firas Harb (trumpet), Beatrice Palumbo (voice) and Milena Punzi (cello).
Father Pileggi and the Inner Spaces project
Key figure is Father Antonio Pileggi, who has conceived Inner Spaces, over the years has built a billboard capable of hosting artists such as Tim Hecker, James Holden, Marta Salogni, Alessandro Cortini and Daniel Miller, the founder of the Mute. Pileggi has combined his musical training with the spiritual one: Jesuit, pianist and composer, he introduced the evening by wishing “good listening and good meditation”, underlining the approach to music that distinguishes the review. His idea is to offer electronic music a position of meditative listening, restoring them depth and removing it from the noise of clubs and festivals: we interviewed him last year, together with Gaetano Scippa, co-creator of the review.
Nicolás Jaar, from electronics to jam to sacred
It is no coincidence that this review is able to attract attention abroad and bring some of the most important names of contemporary electronics to Milan: Nicolás Jaar is one of these. The debut album “Space is Only Noise” (2011) made him one of the strongest names of the electronics of the last 15 years, and has continued to move between beat, ambient and shared projects: from the digital jam-rock of Darkside, with Dave Harrington, to collaborations such as the one with Ali Sethi who will debut next October 31st at the C2C in Turin. A character in his legendary way, who lives in his world and on which there is a halo of mystery and complexity. A few years ago he moved to Italy, to Turin, and then leave and give all his vinyls.
Electronic music as a sacred and secular rite
The presence of Jaar to Inner Spaces is outlined by the classic canons of both sacred music and electronic music, it is a reflection on how electronic music can make centuries -old ritual and spiritual language. After meeting the words of Jeremiah, now with the beatitudes the Chilean artist stages a new “sacred fresco”, in which technology becomes a tool to question the sacred. The concert will soon be put on the Youtube channel of San Fedele Musica: here in the meantime there is the recording of Jaar’s “Hieremias Profheta” of March 2024
