A raven flies through space; a lone rower floats among the pillars in the flooded church; a boat full of people is hit by a storm off the coast; Sweelinck composes by the organ; a wave of bombers rips past; police search a small flat, a Ferris wheel floats by on a barge.
Also see
Vater-Müller Organ -
Graf -
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Hover for exhibition details
An interactive installation
Sounds from The Instrument of Troubled Dreams,set up in the sanctuary of the church, wash over the visitors. Slowly but surely the more than seven centuries of the Oude Kerk’s existence blend with the here and now, creating a poignant moment in the consciousness of Amsterdam’s oldest building. Facing the light coming in from the east, visitors can play a so-called mellotron. The artists have converted this ancestor of the 1980s sampler into a surround stereo set with 28 speakers that redesign the space. The mellotron has 72 keys, each of them programmed to play a different sound effect, vocal track or musical fragment.
The making process
Many of the sounds of the instrument were recorded in and around the Oude Kerk in the months before the opening; water sounds, the wind, the ringing of the bell and the creaking of the ceiling. While playing, you yourself create a cinematic environment, causing you and the other attendees to experience the church differently. Memory, your preferences, unpredictability and the mystery of technology play a role in the creation of a temporary soundtrack for the space.
The story
The work revolves around a story specially composed for the Oude Kerk, containing spoken words and music (including Sweelinck’s, performed on the Vater-Müller organ and by the Oude Kerk’s Sweelinck Church Choir).Many of the sounds were recorded in and around the Oude Kerk in the months before the opening; the sounds of water and wind, of sailing on a large boat, a windmill’s creaking arms, and the ringing bells of the Kerk. Playing the mellotron creates a cinematic environment, and as a result those present begin to experience the church differently. Memory, preference, unpredictability and the mystery of technique all contribute to the creation of a temporary soundtrack for this space.
A place of many meanings
The Oude Kerk is a site steeped in cultural history. Here, different meanings exist side by side: it is the oldest building in the city, a church as well as city archive, the last resting place of, among others, Saskia van Uylenburgh, a space of silence, a museum and a leading music platform. It is the people around the Oude Kerk who give it meaning. The Instrument of Troubled Dreams makes this principle concrete.
