Interplays of outside and inside, of physical, architectural and always also sonic spaces, characterize the audio piece "CHOLERA."

In January 2021, vocal artist Elisa Kühnl conducted intimate 1:1 recording sessions with six members of Glossa, a vocal collective she founded, in the recording studio. The choir members followed action instructions from Elisa Kühnl to give vocal and physical expression to the theme of anger. These recordings were then assembled into a one-hour vocal composition. The RHO collective combined them with a setup of spotlights and a digital control system to create an eight-channel light-sound installation at the Kasseler Kunstverein (Feb. 15 - March 14, 2021).

The audio piece "CHOLERA" interweaves the original composition with documentary recordings of the installation from inside the Kasseler Kunstverein and its external surroundings. It unravels a narrative about spaces, proximity and distance. Inside and outside exist here on several levels: There is the inside of the Kunstverein's premises, which was documented by RHO several times with different microphone setups (including spherical microphones, stereophony, boundary microphones) on a total of 14 tracks. Here, in addition to the voice composition and the room acoustics, the switching noises of the spotlight control and the buzzing of the computers used become audible. The outside in front of the Kunstverein was documented with OKM recordings. Depending on the listening position, the sound of voices mixes with traffic, reactions of passers-by to the installation, bird sounds and melting snow, or even disappears behind the noises. The way inside leads further through the naked recordings from inside the studio, which could never sound this dry in the on-site installation. Last but not least, the inside of the body - the mouth, the voice tube, the lungs, the belly -, gives these recordings their effect and leads into a highly personal, physical interior, which is similarly inaccessible as the exhibition space.

"CHOLERA" was awarded with the Karl-Sczuka-Recherchestipendium by SWR & Goethe-Institut in 2022.

Installation design/setup: RHO
Score: Elisa Kühnl*
Voices*: Friedemann Dupelius, Tanja Kodlin, Elisa Kühnl, Ella Posny, Sophia Schach, Marcus Zilz
Composition: Josephine Stamer*, RHO
Recordings: Friedemann Dupelius*, Eeva Ojanperä, RHO, Marcus Zilz*
Editing: Wednesday Dupont
Mastering: Marcus Zilz at Mount Wobble

*Γλώσσα (Glossa)

The show was kindly supported by Hessisches Ministerium für Wirtschaft und Kunst, Stadt Kassel, Kasseler Kunstverein, Ambion and Westermann Gerüstbau

Photography © Nicolas Wefers