Concert: Rodney Graham, 'Parsifal (1882–38.969.364.735)'

(Photos by Jordi Coppers)
 

Herbert Foundation is organising a live rendition of Rodney Graham’s Parsifal (1882–38.969.364.735) on Sunday 15 June 2025 in collaboration with the Rodney Graham Estate, Gary Bourgeois and the Extended Music Collective chamber music ensemble.

Richard Wagner – Parsifal, 1882

During the 1980s, Graham became fascinated with Richard Wagner’s Parsifal opera, and an anecdote related to its 1882 premiere in particular. A particular musical passage proved too short to allow for a set change during the opera’s performance. When the scenic designer asked the composer for additional music, Wagner refused, saying “I do not write music by the metre!” Wagner’s assistant, composer Engelbert Humperdinck, ultimately wrote a few extra bars with Wagner’s approval. The stage mechanics were adapted after the opera’s premiere, as a result of which the extra bars could be omitted from the score.

While studying the score during a 1989 residency at the Muntschouwburg in Brussels, Rodney Graham discovered that Humperdinck did not write ‘new’ music – he adapted existing bars. With his adaptation, Humperdinck created a musical loop that could be repeated as often as necessary to remain in synchrony with the stage change. This addition fascinated Graham and inspired him to create a series of works that build on this “supplementary” music and that are currently on view at Herbert Foundation.
 

Rodney Graham – Parsifal (1882–38.969.364.735)

For his most ambitious Parsifal adaptation, Graham created his own music loop, based on Humperdinck’s supplementary music, in 1990. He gave each orchestral part an individual repetition frequency, as a result of which the loop would conclude only after 39 billion years if begun in 1882. Graham pushes Humperdinck’s principle to its limits with this absurdly long run time.

Passages of Graham’s work were performed live for the first and last time in Vancouver in 1996. Almost 30 years later, Herbert Foundation is staging a new, live rendition. Audio engineer Gary Bourgeois excerpted the score for the passage that precisely overlaps with a 15 June 2025 performance at 15:30 from Graham’s masterly composition, which runs until the year 38.969.364.735. The concert will be performed on clarinet, bass clarinet, cell, harp and vibraphone by the EMC chamber music ensemble.
 

Extended Music Collective

Extended Music Collective (EMC) is a chamber music ensemble led by cellist Nina Vanhoenacker and harpist Stef Van Vynckt. This collective explores new music across its wide spectrum and performs in different configurations, with a focus on repertoire pieces for flute, cello, harp and piano. EMC has collaborated with internationally acclaimed composers such as Alireza Farhang, Leilehua Lanzilotti and David Fennessy; and has been coached by leading ensembles such as Ensemble Modern (DE) and Kronos Quartet (US). They won first place in the category chamber music at the International Competition for the interpretation of contemporary music Fondazione Flavio Vespasiano and completed artist-in-residencies at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute (US) and the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (CA) in 2024.

Harp: Stef Van Vynckt
Cello: Nina Vanhoenacker
Vibraphone: Wim Pelgrims
Clarinet: Sarah Jelassi
Bass clarinet: Freya Bovijn‬

Programme
2:30 p.m. – Doors open
3:00 p.m. – Welcome by Laura Hanssens, Herbert Foundation director*
3:30 p.m. – Concert Rodney Graham – Parsifal
4:15 p.m. – Laura Hanssens in conversation with musicians Stef Van Vynckt and Nina Vanhoenacker*
4:30 p.m. – Informal drinks / Feel free to visit the exhibitions Sumptuous Allegories of Nothingness and Avis au lecteur in Herbert Foundation – Loods (until 6 p.m.).

*In English
 

Location
Herbert Foundation
Raas van Gaverestraat 106, 9000 Ghent

Tickets
20€ – Buy your tickets here