Lacy: Concert for a Space and Time

The Danish-American composer Lil Lacy (*1985) conceived “Concert for a Space and Time” in 2019 as an alternative Christmas concert for choir and strings. Rather than for a traditional concert hall, the work was created for performance in a shopping mall. Lacy directly incorporates the environment there: the choir members initially imitate the bustle of shopping before their attention increasingly turns to the space and its materials.

Musically, “Concert for a Space and Time” also combines different sonic layers. Breathing and exhaling sounds, beat and interference tones, and harmonies inspired by 14th-century polyphony meet passages for strings. Thematically, Lacy describes a journey from materialism toward human connection and a more conscious perception of one’s surroundings.

The Welterstein recording of the ten-part work was made with Ars Nova Copenhagen and the Århus Sinfonietta under the direction of Mathias Skaarup Sørensen.