a project of the fringe ensemble with the International SprechChor Bonn

With Mohamad Asswad, Moaz Chachit, Eugenia Fabrizi, Allé Fall, Jörg Hornbostel, Stephan Kollmer, Marianne Krüll, Renata Martins, Ulrich Mercker, Andreas Müller, Maria H. Sagué, Svetozar Savic, Petra Schuck, Messan Sitti, Eike Welk, Maria Weller, Jehoon Yoo, Shadi Youssef, Naroa Zaldua
Concept and artistic direction Bettina Marugg, Claudia Grönemeyer
Director Bettina Marugg
Dramaturgy, Public Relations Claudia Grönemeyer
Author Lothar Kittstein
Composer Gregor Schwellenbach
Stage Eduardo Serú
Costumes Annika Ley
Assistance Jennifer Merten
Project Management Svenja Pauka
Cultural Guide Eugenia Fabrizi

The International SprechChor Bonn with 20 members from 11 nations presents an adaptation of the 9th Symphony – without a single note of music, without a single orchestral instrument. The spoken-choir piece consists of a current time picture written by Lothar Kittstein and a multilingual spoken-choir composition by Gregor Schwellenbach of the ode “An die Freude”. Like the original, but different, B9 delivers a reflection on a shaken world and a hymn to a utopian one.

With its members from numerous nations, the choir is a reflection of our modern society and – on a small scale – an example of respectful, creative joint work. In this sense, he is predestined to present the spoken-choir work B9, a reflection on a world of shattering change and a hymn to a utopian world celebrating the positive power of functioning togetherness – as an adaptation of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

Due to the pandemic, the project could not be staged as planned. We decided to film one part and then perform the last scene, the last movement live. Thus, the open-air presentation on August 22, 2021, at Bonn’s Münsterplatz consisted of a film and a live presentation. Under the direction of Bettina Marugg, the ensemble worked with author Lothar Kittstein and composer Gregor Schwellenbach, using the choir members’ own texts as well as Schiller’s ode “An die Freude.”