Event Durham

Jane Chapman, harpsichord

Richard Rijnvos: lettura del labirinto (2024)

MUSICON is thrilled to welcome virtuoso harpsichordist Jane Chapman to give the UK premiere of Richard Rijnvos’ major new work. lettura del labirinto aspires to create a parallel universe to Italo Calvino's ‘cryptic’ novel Invisible Cities by fathoming the map of Venice, itself a staggering warren of alleys, bridges and little squares. The work depicts a walk through all six neighbourhoods (‘sestieri’), starting at the eastern corner of Castello and ending near the western edge of Dorsoduro. During this so-called Eulerian trail any feature on the map is visited only once, while crossing the same path twice is avoided. Along the way we pause at 55 locations: 39 ‘campi’, Piazza San Marco, another 14 ‘campi’ and 1 ‘ultima fermata’. The piece is a collection of 55 miniatures for which Rijnvos has created a film, featuring original footage shot in Venice. The serene images are of a contemplative nature, evoking a feeling of getting lost and forever being incarcerated in an urban maze.