The Fifth Pythia of Deir El Qamar

October 1 through October 31, 2014

Experimental Sound Studio’s FLORASONIC presents…
THE FIFTH PYTHIA OF DEIR EL QAMAR (2006)

a sound installation at The Lincoln Park Conservatory – Chicago
by Michael Zerang and Mazen Kerbaj

What you’ll hear in the Fern Room is The Fifth Pythia of Deir el Qamar, a composition by percussionist Michael Zerang and trumpeter Mazen Kerbaj. Inspired by the small, ancient Lebanese village of Deir el Qamar (monastery of the Moon), a myth evolved in the composers’ imaginations: that in the 19th century, the fifth Pythia (oracle) at the monastery claimed that multiple gods spoke through her, which caused great consternation among the village leaders, who believed in only one god and thus chose to suppress her utterances.

The music created by Zerang and Kerbaj, based on exploring and incorporating the widest possible range of sounds that their instruments produce, can be heard as a metaphor for exploring the wides possible range of sensation and spirit, even if such discoveries are sometimes strange to us at the outset.

Location: Fern Room at Lincoln Park Conservatory