Chorus: A Sound Installation by Annika Kahrs

What happens when a church begins to resonate as an instrument in its own right? In her new sound installation „Chorus", artist Annika Kahrs transforms the Nikolaikirche into an immersive sonic environment that you can explore on foot. The installation follows a spatial and temporal choreography. On the hour, it begins outside the church and gradually leads you through seven stations into the building's interior: from the carillon, through the entrance area, the organ and the chancel, and finally into the nave. The church itself becomes a resonant body through which you can move. In music, the word „chorus" has several meanings. Kahrs draws on this principle at different levels throughout the work. Individual voices and sounds stand on their own while simultaneously entering into dialogue with one another. As in a choir, the sounds do not exist in isolation. They can be heard side by side, layered upon one another, and together as a collective whole. The sounds and compositions of the installation draw on the historical and social contexts of the Nikolaikirche. At the same time, Kahrs brings contemporary sounds into the church through recordings made in districts across Berlin. Within the church, these field recordings form a loose choir of the city. The church becomes a space of resonance for Berlin itself. You can experience the complete sound installation Monday to Friday between 12 noon and 6 pm, starting on the hour. In addition, the installation can be heard on Thursday evenings and at weekends, albeit without the carillon. A vinyl LP accompanying the exhibition will be released by Ediciones Inauditas (Sergio Edelsztein), co-published with the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.).