Sleepless night in full light

The music piece ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ by Mussorgsky served as the basis for the installation by Les Orpailleurs de Lumière at the Catharinakerk in 2012. It is inspired by a story by Nikolai Gogol, describing a village visited by the devil when night falls. Nightmarish scenes follow one another until the bell tolls, and daylight returns. Mussorgsky’s music, like the story, is exciting and unsettling. But after the striking of a bell, the music shifts to a calm pace, and tranquility returns.

In Sleepless Night in Full Light, the devil is replaced by a conductor. He becomes entranced by the rhythm of the music and has visions: moving music notes, orchestra members turning into monsters, and instruments flying around. The church seems to be under a spell. Until the bell strikes, and the conductor regains his senses. The sun rises, and the church is enveloped in magical light.