Voice: Sculpting Sound with Maja S. K. Ratkje, with an online Q&A with the director Ingo J. Biermann and Maja S. K. Ratkje.

A cinematic feature documentary by director Ingo J. Biermann about Norwegian composer and performer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje.. It is not only the portrait of a singular musician and singer, but the film will explore the sound and the nature of the human voice in all its facets. Performances, sound recordings and intimate personal scenes are composed into a complex portrait of an uncompromising artist challenged between conflicting poles of family and vocation. A film about an individual's voice whose vigor and enthusiasm are increasingly passed on to the viewer.

Maja S. K. Ratkje.

Norwegian composer and performer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje operates in a wide range of the avant-garde field. At its heart lies Ratkje's own voice. Ratkje's exploration of her own voice's timbral properties led to its involvement in the compositional process. In 2002, she released the album Voice, a catalogue of previously unexplored vocal production techniques fused with electronics that was awarded the Prix Ars Electronica. Ratkje's exploration of the voice as an instrument came to maturity in Concerto for Voice (2004), commissioned by Radio France.

Her music is performed by Ensemble Intercontemporain, Klangforum Wien, Oslo Sinfonietta, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Red Note Ensemble, POING and many more.   She has received the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris for composers below 30 years, Scottish Award for New Music for »Aeolian«, second prize at the Russolo Foundation, and in 2001 she was the first composer to receive the Norwegian Arne Nordheim prize.

Ingo J. Beirmann

Ingo J.Biermann studied directing at the German Film & Television Academy in Berlin with Claire Denis, Béla Tarr, Andres Veiel and Christian Petzold. His first feature film was Faust. A Tragedy: Part One (2008), based on Goethe's classic play, followed by Nordland (2013), a roadmovie across Northern Norway. He has finished five feature-length documentaries about music and art as well as a five-hour series on German actors. He has been working in Berlin and Norway in recent years.

This event is part of the 'Calling Calling' programme.  An expanded vocal project taking place throughout 2023 by the extended Brunswick Club community. 

Calling Calling Performance event, Saturday 14 October, 7.30 - 11pm, Arnolfini, more info: Headfirst

Made possible with funding from West of England Visual Arts Alliance (WEVAA) and Arts Council England, with support from Arnolfini.