The Shapeshift Ensemble performs Lacrimosa or 13 Magic Songs by contemporary composer Maxim Shalygin. The piece is uniquely set for seven violins.
"Lacrimosa or 13 Magic Songs is a lamentation, man's final prayer before Judgement. This prayer can at once be incisive and show the various states of mankind: gleeful, repenting, fearful, lamenting, faithful... During the performance of the 13 Songs, the listeners' souls are supposed to pass through a series of excruciating, excessive stages, to finally reach a catharsis. This direction determines the cycle's dramaturgic structure.
My aim is to transform an immediate, openly emotional response to powerful impressions ? something most contemporary art refuses to deal with ? into the musical form of the Lacrimosa. For all the varied techniques to be applied in the work, its emphasis is on the emotion, its aspiration to capture the listeners' minds, immersing them in the atmosphere of each part. This idea can be realised only by a multi-voice single-timbre ensemble of violins, at once a unity and a multitude, one soul and its many voices, a number of people struggling to come at peace with the world, one another, and silence..." Maxim Shalygin
Shapeshift is a flexible performing ensemble based in The Netherlands and is a composer-performer's collective. The ensemble brings exceptional and unusual music productions, performed by the best soloists of the new generation, combining quality, vast possibilities, adventure, imagination, excitement, experimentation, and unprejudiced freshness with a sharp artistic vision.
Shapeshift works in close collaboration with composers, tailoring to their methods. The composition of the group varies depending on the needs of the production. The size can range from small to very large, while retaining the unique character and personality of Shapeshift. This all makes sure that the ensemble is the perfect basis for bringing innovative ideas into practice.
