By the waters of Babylon
Faith and art meet for mezzo-soprano Uta Runne in the "Biblical Songs" by Antonín Dvořák. She has spent several years combining the ten-part song cycle with various other genres to so better express its message of exile and finding a home, despair and hope.
Two of the songs were interpreted in short films by the director Dorothee Frauenlob. In 2019 the Israeli filmmaker Yaron Sokolov was commissioned by The Limelight Collective to make a third film for song number seven "On the Waters of Babylon". In the film Shaw Coleman dances the themes of the songs.
The ancient texts of the Psalms are being made accessible to a modern audience by bringing together song, music, dance and visual media.
The short film made in 2019 was presented to the general public for the first time on 18 September 2021. The film was presented together with the other nine "Biblical Songs" by Antonín Dvořák. Uta Runne sang live, Christian Radelhof accompanied her on the piano and Shaw Coleman danced.
Premiere: September 18, 2021
Music: Antonín Dvořák
Singing: Uta Runne
Dance and direction: Shaw Coleman
Piano: Christian Radelhof
Films: Dorothee Frauenlob, Yaron Sokolov