The Invisible Choir. Preview of the work of Moritz Fehr
The artist Moritz Fehr is currently finalizing a multi-part, site-specific sound installation entitled The Invisible Choir for the former house of the female guards.
The sound installation examines the role of singing at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Songs were not only performed in secret, but also under constraint and threat of punishment. At the same time performing certain songs was tolerated by the guards.
The title The Invisible Choir is taken from a letter by Ludmila Peškařová, which she wrote on 1965. In it, she describes how she imagined a 'thousand-voice choir' in 1945, shortly before the liberation of the concentration camp – composed by the 'invisible women' of Ravensbrück. Ludmila Peškařová wrote many poems and songs during her imprisonment, some of which she also performed together with other prisoners.
The songs researched for Fehr's sound installation were newly arranged and recorded with a choir. The spatial arrangement of the loudspeakers acoustically highlights different areas of the house of the female guards. In this way the work creates a relationship between the songs and the historical location.
Moritz Fehr's works examine sound in terms of metaphorical presence and spatial implications. His projects have been presented internationally and are permanently installed and accessible at Velaslavasay Panorama (Los Angeles) and as part of Continuous Drift (Dublin).
