Those who missed Vokalprojekt 31 at MicroFest Amsterdam 2015 now have another chance to be overwhelmed by these dizzying vocal sounds. Initiated by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation and born from a collaboration with the Berlin-based conductor and composer Fabio Costa, Vokalprojekt 31 is an ensemble of four singers who perform early and contemporary music in both meantone tuning and the 31-tone system in a fascinating way. During this morning concert, they will be accompanied by Ere Lievonen on the unique Fokker organ.
The programme features a world premiere by Fabio Costa, entitled and while there he sighs… (for alto and Fokker organ), as well as a four-minute opera by Sander Germanus (about the murder of Carlo Gesualdo’s wife). The ensemble will also perform the work of the German composer and lutenist Andreas Arend, Faictz ce que vouldras, entirely in 31-tone tuning. In addition, the programme includes music from the early Baroque and Renaissance, such as the madrigals of the 16th-century microtonalist Nicola Vicentino. Without exception, this is music that is rarely heard.

Fabio Costa on the project: “The versatility of the 31-tone system is remarkable. It is a system in which one can approach the pure tones found only in the overtone series. This opens up entirely new and unexplored harmonic worlds. At the same time, it is an ideal system for performing compositions from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, such as the innovative music of composers like Gesualdo and Vicentino.”