Land Music

Land Music

Commemorative bell concert (2023) © Territory specific performance – Bergamo e Brescia Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2023

Land Music is a territory-specific data-driven performance created for Bergamo Brescia Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2023. It consists in making all the bell towers present on the over 7,500km2 of territory simultaneously concerted; resulting in the spatially largest concert ever performed

It transformed the entire area of Bergamo and Brescia into a resonating data-sonification soundscape. Land Music was held on March 18, 2023, the National Day of Remembrance for the victims of COVID-19 in Italy.At exactly 8:00 PM, each bell tower in the participating provinces tolled a number of chimes corresponding to the number of COVID-19 victims in the parishes and municipalities to which they belonged. The +13,000 chimes resonated across the region and created a deeply symbolic "extended concert" that united the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia in a shared act of remembrance and solidarity. This powerful soundscape turned the physical landscape into an auditory experience for the attending communities.

The documentary of Terre di Mezzo

Land Music was a hyperobject. It manifested itself for about 5/1000 of the Earth's rotation. It affected an area of ​​7,500 km2. It involved over a thousand bell towers that rang over 13,000 chimes. It was heard by potentially 2,400,000 people.
The anti-formal character of land art resonates in it. 

Video courtesy of Fondazione Cogeme, Audio by Nessun Dharma

Matteo Bonera and Michele Zuccarelli Gennasi – Nessun Dharma

'Land Music returned the bells to their original meaning, both faith and secular. Indeed, during the most critical phases of the pandemic, the bells were losing their original meaning. During the harshest periods, marked by lockdowns, the soundscape of cities was defined by a distinctive silence that we all remember. Two sounds broke through this silence: the sirens of ambulances and the chimes of bells. While the former symbolized an emergency, the latter was inevitably associated with loss.

In a time of enforced social distancing, when we could not be close to our loved ones in moments of grief, the bells had lost their original significance as symbols of togetherness and brotherhood—in a word, community. Bells have always been a visual and acoustic landmark of the territory, representing unity, fraternity, and community. The Land Music project achieved the ambitious goal of restoring the original meaning of the bells, as evidenced by the strong participation of the communities.'
Land Music happened on March 18, 2023, the national day in memory of the victims of Covid.

People were invited to film and share audio/video of the event using the hashtag #landmusic
Contribuisci ed invia il tuo materiale audio/video e/o impressioni:

Video courtesy of Federico La Torre, Audio by Nessun Dharma

How Land Music was perceived by the communities

The participation of communities in Land Music was huge. The mayors of the 448 municipalities and the parish priests collaborated to create bottom-up initiatives:  moments of collective remembrance organized in the squares in front of the churches. This involvement amplified the event's reach and created a collective memory shared across various media platforms. The hashtag #landmusic allowed for the aggregation of these personal recordings, creating a rich archive of the event as perceived by those who experienced it firsthand. These contributions, which include video recordings from various locations, serve as a lasting digital archive of the event, reflecting the diverse ways in which it was perceived by the communities

Land Music has been created for people who live, have lived, and/or have lost someone in the territories stricken hard by the pandemic. The participation of the local communities was huge as testified by videos taken nearby the parishes or the squares where Land music happened. It was potentially heard by 2.4 million people.


These are just some of the contribution you can explore via this facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/landmusic

SanGallo.mp4

Campanari di San Gallo, Brescia

BresciaCorriere.mp4

Brescia

TorrePallavicina.mp4

Torre Pallavicina, Bergamo

GussagoPiazza.mp4

Gussago, Brescia

Zogno.mp4

Campanile di Zogno, Bergamo

Rovato.mp4

Rovato, Brescia

Sarezzo.mp4

Sarezzo, Brescia

Leno.mp4

Leno, Brescia

Nave.mp4

Nave, Brescia

Provaglio.mp4

Provaglio d'Iseo, Brescia

BergamoEco.mp4

Bergamo

Bergamo.mp4

Bergamo

Pumenengo.mp4

Pumenengo, Bergamo

Verolavecchia.mp4

Verolavecchia, Brescia

TorreDeRoveri.mp4

Torre de Roveri, Bergamo

Lograto.mp4

Lograto, Brescia

CostaImagna.mp4

Costa Valle Imagna, Bergamo

Collebeato.mp4

Collebeato, Brescia

The project achieved the important goal of becoming the symbol of Italian Capital of Culture for 2023, where Bergamo and Brescia were jointly designated for the first time as a double capital to acknowledge their resilience and solidarity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This shared experience of suffering, loss, and recovery created a strong bond between them, prompting the Italian government to honor them together. For this reason, Land Music has been selected by the two municipalities as the flagship project to symbolize the union of the provinces in the Italian Capital of Culture.

Furthermore, the sound of the bells echoed in the closing speech of the Italian President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
A way of doing culture'From its resistance to Covid to the beauty of culture, Bergamo and Brescia are united in remembrance and commemoration.' says the two cities.
And continue: 'The appointment is set in the various squares of the Enlightened City, to celebrate our grit and determination and to reaffirm that we are a unique, fraternal community, incapable of forgetting but tenacious enough to regenerate and move forward.'18th March, the National Commemorative day in memory of the victims of COVID, is a significant date that reminds us of a night three years ago, when the images of army trucks queuing along the streets of Bergamo made their way around the world, becoming a symbol of one of the most difficult chapters in recent history.Etched in our memories and minds, they are perhaps the most representative image of the pain that hit our territory so hard, but also giving us the strength to react and rise again.Bergamo Brescia Italian Capitals of Culture 2023 is also the result of these memories.Conceived as a sign of hope and a vital moment of beauty after the pandemic experience, the Capital of Culture project bears witness to a possible rebirth through culture a tribute to the steadfastness, resistance and courage of territories, institutions and citizens who, despite having to overcome their fragility, have been able to acknowledge their ability to shine once again.
Field recordingConceived as a sign of hope and a vital moment of beauty after the pandemic experience, the Capital of Culture project bears witness to a possible rebirth through culture a tribute to the steadfastness, resistance and courage of territories, institutions and citizens who, despite having to overcome their fragility, have been able to acknowledge their ability to shine once again.With the sound matter.

Field recording of Land Music from Brescia's castle

Press release

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More about Land Music

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Partner e ringraziamenti

Land Music è parte del progetto Terre di Mezzo, del palinsesto di eventi di Bergamo Brescia Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2023 e del programma delle commemorazioni nel Comune di Bergamo per la Giornata Nazionale a memoria delle vittime della pandemia. 

È stato reso possibile grazie alla collaborazione con le Diocesi di Brescia e Diocesi di Bergamo, prodotto da Fondazione Cogeme Onlus, Rinascimento Culturale, Associazione L'impronta, Piccolo Parallelo e patrocinato dalla Provincia di Brescia e di Bergamo. Un ringraziamento particolare a Giulia Sandrini per le relazioni pubbliche e Isaia Invernizzi per i dati.  
Con la preziosa collaborazione di tutti i parroci, sagrestani e campanari, Laura Castelletti, Gabriella Ballerini, Laura Rossi, Francesca Bertoglio, Daniele Faita, Fabrizio Rigamonti, Gianluca Gerbino, Ugo Patti, Gianmaria Frusca, Daniela Mena, Fabio Piovanelii, Michele Scalvenzi, Marco Zappalaglio, Leonardo Palmese.