| “quintessence - a quintet.net networked performance” is based on the five elements that make up the world according to the alchemists: fire, water, earth, air and the mythical substance aether. Aristotle included it as a fifth element distinct from the other four. It is believed to be the substance which filled the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere and forms the heavenly bodies. Aether was also called Quintessence (from quinta essentia, “fifth element”). In physics quintessence describes a form of dark matter. The symbol for quintessence is the snake that bites its own tail (called Ouroboros). It is seen as the highest form of essence, the innermost core of a substance. All five elements have very specific characteristics, movements, symbols and mystical meanings associated to them. The audio as well as the video parts of Quintessence were inspired by these as well as various processes and their phases in alchemy. The four elements and quintessence have very distinct qualities. Water is liquid, strives downward (relative), it can bring floods, tsunamis or maelstroms. Fire burns, strives upward (absolute), is a deadly force in something like forest fires or man-made disasters such as 9/11 and (atomic) bombs. Earth strives downward. It’s cold and dry. From it volcanoes erupt and earthquakes rock it. It holds a special place because alchemists believe it to be the “prima materia”, which spawned everything else through a process of “original-insemination”. The air strives up in relation to the other elements. It can bring all sorts of storms, can be very hot (desert, draught) or cold (ice-age). All these four elements move in linear motions. Quintessence is a greater force. It can bring armageddon (metaphysical or in the shape of a large meterorite that strikes earth). Contrary to the others, it moves in circles. The Music In Quintessence we build upon the mentioned characteristics of the elements. Every element is represented by one player, with the video acting as an additional comment-track to the music, containing all five elements. In a Jungian sense quintessence explores the subconsious projections that the elements and the disasters that happen in them invoke and how humans in the society take action and responsibility - or neglect to take it. |