popol
vuh
Theatre Play
#sound_composition
PROJECT DETAILS
Premiere date: June 2023
Credits:
Dramaturgy and direction: The Salon of the Invisibles
Text adaptation: María de Prada
Audiovisual filming and plastic execution: David Rovirola
Sound composition: Arnau Montserrat and Neus Soler
Choreography and performance: Deku Rojas
Performance: Neus Soler
Lighting: The Salon of the Invisibles
Set design and costumes: The Salon of the Invisibles
Production: The Salon of the Invisibles
DESCRIPTION
The piece is an adaptation of the Mesoamerican work ‘Popol Vuh.’ The Popol Vuh comprises a collection of mythical and historical narratives from the Quiché people of Guatemala. We bring to the stage the adventures of Hunaphú and Ixbalanqué, who are unaware of their own origins and will travel to Xibalbá to discover them. After overcoming many challenges, they will discover who they are, becoming the Sun and the Moon, thus initiating the conception of time. The piece is aimed at a family audience (aged 6 to 12) as it is a mythical tale full of magic and adventure.
My Role
In the scope of this project, I have undertaken the task of crafting the sound composition for the entirety of the piece, augmented by Neus Soler’s live violin performance. My approach has involved incorporating field recordings gathered during my travels to Mexico, along with the utilization of various digital synthesizers, to construct the sonic landscape.
Audio Samples
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Hun Batz and Hun Chouen serve as the narrators of the piece. In Maya culture, both (a spider monkey and a howler monkey) are considered the gods of artists and are always depicted painting and playing instruments. In the staging, we have embodied Hun Batz as a moving drawing using the stop-motion technique, and Hun Chouen as an actress who narrates while simultaneously creating part of the sonic space by playing an electric violin live.
The classic narrative storytelling device is established. Multiple languages coexist, such as moving drawing, shadow theater, and object theater through various lanterns and a transparency projector, urban dance, and the combination of electronic music inspired by pre-Hispanic music and the live electric violin of the narrator.
In this way, we alternate between visual, atmospheric, choreographic, and narrative moments to immerse ourselves in a distant and poetic world.