Monk forces concentration with Indra's Net at Holland Festival

The dome of the imposing former Gashouder on the Westergasfabriek grounds turns out to offer excellent acoustics for music. There, last night, the premiere of Indra's Net, the latest composition by singer, director and filmmaker Meredith Monk, took place.

Celebrity especially in the United States, where she has composed and performed minimal music for over fifty years. Since 1978, together with her Vocal Ensemble, which she also brought to Amsterdam.

Universal soul

Monk's work is characterised by using the human voice as the main musical instrument. 'The musical voice needs no language and speaks to the universal soul,' Monk said in a documentary some years ago. With that, all the emphasis is also on the human body, which she lets form abstract patterns through space in choreographies, like performances.

This performance focuses on the connection between people; Indra's net is a philosophical concept from Buddhism and refers to the interconnectedness of all living organisms on earth. Monk has been a staunch Buddhist since the 1950s and this is evident in her work.

Empty screen

It took some getting used to for the many-strong audience clustered around the circular stage. Above it hung a round screen, an echo of the Gashouder's circular architecture. Performances by Monk command patience and concentration; there is little action, all emphasis is on the vocals, which were summarily accompanied by a few wind and string instruments and a harp. As always, the minimal music was soberly staged: all singers dressed entirely in white, while the screen also remained blank for a long time.

This allowed us to focus optimally on the many modulations of the male and female voices. Monk herself was one of them- recognisable by her small stature and her braids. The Buddhist-trained, beautifully low male voice that occasionally chanted the mantra OM could have been given more space in this contemplative composition.

Surrender

While singing, the performers moved towards and away from each other, forming rows, squares and circles. As befits her conceptual style, there was much variation on themes, with occasional jokes in between: chattering teeth, tongue-clacking and other goofy sounds. It did not prevent several visitors from leaving the concert early-the repetitions can be monotonous, Monk's oeuvre requires a meditative abandon that is not given to everyone.

Towards the end, the performance gained momentum as a camera above the circular stage projected the singers' movements onto the circular screen. Then all the lines came together: from above, we suddenly saw the pattern in which the singers moved and in which the musicians joined: revolving around a bright sun, connected by Indra's net.