The premiere of Requiem448 has left an indelible mark in our hearts and minds, showing how this work can transform numbers and statistics into an artistic language that has touched our souls.

The use of Duomo Vecchio’s ceiling as the projection surface created a profound connection between the audience and the artwork, with many viewers reporting a deep emotional response. Post-performance discussions and reflections, whether shared in person or online, confirmed that Requiem448 was deeply emotional, with many viewers reflecting on the personal and communal losses they had experienced during the pandemic. Requiem448 stood as a reminder of the pandemic’s toll, while also offering a space for collective mourning and contemplation and data embodiment.

The audio component was generated by mapping the mortality data to sound parameters. The sound that echoes continuously throughout the performance, changing in meter subdivision, is a sample of a digitally generated bell. Around it, using the meter established by the data, other sounds are introduced to ensure a cohesive and comprehensible level of dramaturgy, as if it were a musical piece, making it more accessible even to less trained ears. The ratio used to achieve a temporal flow as close to reality as possible is 1 second to 1 day. Consequently, the number of victims was evenly distributed within the span of one second, creating sudden metric changes and moments of density where the sense of time was lost as the number of victims increased.