JOURNEY

A unique project in terms of content and form, combining visual experience with live music. It locates itself on the border of genres.

It offers two medium-length films: Kora Kailash and Journey to the Pole

Kora Kailash takes the audience to a land of unique history, mystique, and breathtaking scenery Tibet. The destination is one of the most sacred mountains in the world, Kailash. It is often seen as the spiritual pole of the world. Journey to the Pole is a journey to the other, more familiar, poles of the world. The material for this film was taken both during the author’s expedition to the South Pole (1999) as well as during his subsequent visits to Antarctica.

The treatment of both titles is formally closest to a film essay, employing masterfully visual means not to describe but rather to recreate the atmosphere of individual parts or moments of these journeys. The division into chapters also corresponds to this (see the librettos below).

The deliberate absence of “word,” written or spoken, enhances the emotional impact of the experience, as does the lively performance of the music using a wide range of specific means of expression to enhance the character of the individual sections. On equal footing with the imagery, it works with elements of popular music, musical minimalism and ethnic inspirations, and is influenced by other modern trends. The nearly fluent synchronization of the image and the musical component forced the use of an unusual combination of a pre-recorded partial ‘base’ with a live string part performed by the University of Hradec Králové Chamber Orchestra. This, however, also allowed the use of the chosen instrumentation to an extent limited only by the creative intent.