A Study of Losses

Magical circus performance about losses to music by the American artist Beirut.

A Study of Losses is a free interpretation of the German author Judith Schalansky's novel "Verzeichnis einiger Verluste," which, with magical realism, depicts life and history as a series of losses and disappearances. Realms crumble, buildings turn to ruins, cultural artifacts are destroyed, animals face extinction. Most losses remain unknown, precisely because they are lost. We gaze upon what we believe to be history, yet it is essentially a series of temporary preservations in a vast sea of losses. Through circus, contemporary magic, and object manipulation, there is a playful and choreographic exploration of the allure of what has been lost.

Four circus artists and an array of forgotten everyday objects awaken in an atmospheric landscape where even objects carry memories, dreams, and phantom pains. The poetic lyrics support the dizzying existential experiences present in the theme of the performance. We are confronted with the burning question: What have I lost, and what am I afraid to lose?

“In A Study of Losses, we will explore the apocalyptic themes of loss and disappearances from Judith Schalansky’s book, through circus choreography and metaphorical language. The stage is set in a vanished landscape, where circus performers and everyday objects emerge in a twisted, modern ruin. It’s a fragmented narrative encompassing animals, landscapes, buildings, concepts, and memories that are lost to us. The incredible music by Zach Condon, aka Beirut, has become the nervous system of the performance and creates the ground for its choreographic universe. Beirut’s music adds an expansive ambiance and celebrates the beauty of life, reflecting on what it means to be human amidst a sea of known and unknown disappearances.” Viktoria Dalborg - Director

Musiken, som specialkomponerats i ett tätt samarbete mellan Kompani Giraff och Zach Condon/Beirut, har en bärande roll i berättandet. Zach Condons resonanta röst och svindlande låttexter bär föreställningens existensiella tema. Vi ställs inför den brännande frågan: Vad har jag mist och vad är jag rädd att förlora?

Inspired by the novel “Verzeichnis einiger Verluste” by Judith Schalansky.

Trailer:
https://vimeo.com/1012826044

Premiere:
The 10th of september 2024
at Jatka 78 in Prague

Calendar:
See tour dates in our Calendar

With support from:
Riksteatern
Dansens Hus – Elverket
Sveriges Författarfond
Jatka78

Facts:
Duration of the performance: aprox 65 min without a break
Target group: University, High school, family audience
Stage size: 12 x 9 x 7 m
Performance area: 8 x 7 m

“A Study of Losses is carried by playfulness in a thoughtful, sometimes humorous approach and close interaction.”
– Svenska Dagbladet

“A Study of Losses is beautiful and gravity-defying circus set to wistful music by the artist Beirut”
– Aftonbladet

”In an otherwise explicit and vulgar time, it's beautiful to see that poetry is still alive with Kompani Giraff."
– Scenkonstguiden

”A newly discovered land of dreamers, a lunatic’s paradise, formed freely and easily in the space.”
– Dance Context

“…it is not difficult to follow the emotional state, the beauty, the deep aesthetics. And find that you have somehow been carried through a trough and come out on the other side again, purified and satisfied. By something melancholic, visual and very beautiful.”
– Sundsvalls Tidning

Quote from Beirut / Zach Condon

“In spring 2023 Viktoria Dalborg, director at the Swedish circus Kompani Giraff, reached out to me, asking if I would be interested to provide the music for their next project, a show based on an adaptation of a novel by German author Judith Schalansky. Admittedly, I had neither heard of the circus or the author before but was very intrigued as soon as I read an abstract of the book and saw a few videos of Kompani Giraff’s previous work. I was immediately taken by the costume, lighting and stage design around the acrobatics.

The main themes in Schalansky´s book and in the adaptation for the circus show deals with the concept of loss and the impermanence of everything known to us: from extinct animal species, lost architectural and literary treasures to more abstract concepts of loss through the process of aging.

I wrote a few first songs that I was pretty happy with, the wide variation of sounds and ideas felt in debt to one of my all-time favorites: The Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs. After having taken a break from writing because of other projects, I met up with Viktoria at a cafe in Stockholm to discuss our collaboration. She invited me to Malmö to see a special performance of their current production “Moln” in which Jonathan Johansson and David Lindvall, who wrote the music for that show performed live.

The show left me amazed and was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Not only were the acrobats deeply creative and expressive for their performances but also the whole atmosphere created by the lights, stage design and music made for a special kind of experience that went beyond a normal concert or theater piece to me. Having seen the full potential of such a show, I returned to Berlin doubly inspired to create something as meaningful and moving for their next project.

After finishing 11 songs and themes, Viktoria asked me if I could extend some of the songs with instrumental themes to match the total length of the planned performance. At that point I was deep in a sonic world taking inspiration from a lot of choir, renaissance and other early music I had been obsessed with and the instrumental pieces were quick to follow, almost all new pieces of their own.

I asked Clarice Jensen, an extremely talented cello player and arranger I had worked with for “No No No” and some live performances to arrange and play over some of these instrumental pieces with a string quartet. I titled them with the lunar seas inspired by the chilling tale of a man obsessed with archiving all of humanities lost thoughts and creations where they collect on the moon, who realizes all too late the life he has lost in the process.

A Study Of Losses has turned into a rather unexpected piece of music for me. At 18 songs and nearly an hour long, it is by far the largest album I’ve ever done.”

– Zach Condon
Berlin, april 2024