The Šiauliai State Chamber Choir "Polifonija", celebrating its 50th anniversary, enters an uncharted artistic territory by creating an innovative interdisciplinary project in which the silent cinema of observational documentaries merges with the choir's live music. The film director Kristijonas Dirsė and the cinematographer Jokūbas Miškinis, with their masterful manipulation of the tools of documentary cinematography, aesthetically present an artistic exploration in which the choir's singers are not only a group of music performers. The film creates a portrait of each choir member, highlighting in close-up details of their everyday life that are usually invisible to concertgoers.
The artistic value of the project, initiated by Linas Balandis, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Polifonija Choir, is enhanced by the unique combination of music and visuals. The soundtrack of the film is composed especially for this film by the young generation Polish composer Zuzanna Koziej. Her musical composition is a multi-layered soundscape combining minimalist motifs and modern harmonic structure, organically integrated into the silent cinematic narrative. Moreover, the sonic and visual fabric becomes interactive: the choir will perform the new musical composition live during the premiere, scenographically combining visual and aural experiences in a performative synthesis that aims to extend the traditional boundaries of film and music.
In this project, the fusion of music and image, but also of personal and collective narrative is important. The texts used in the film are the choir members' own reflections on their relationship with music and the Polifonija Choir. These thoughts were written down five years ago and immortalised in a photo album, but now they become an essential verbal symbol that gives this work a special intimacy. In this way, the structural framework of the project resembles a retrospective reflection, in which the choir plays not only a musical but also a semiotic role.
The aesthetics of the film is not only a simple observational documentary, but also a profound visual study that seeks to capture the duality of the choir members: between their stage image and their private lives, in which they turn into ordinary people, with their own hobbies, passions and daily routines. Cinematographer Jokūbas Miškinis uses subtle cinematic devices to create a contrasting visual narrative that reflects the film's characters' mundane existence and their transformation to become part of a distinguished community of artists.
This project is not only a new and pleasurable experience, but also a form of creation that requires the audience's full participation and awareness. It is one of those rare artworks that invites us to experience transcendence, going beyond the usual boundaries of art consumption and into an active, emotional and intellectual dialogue with the work.
