Henk Schut - The Singing Parliament

For The Singing Parliament, Henk Schut created an installation of 150 speakers, as many as there are seats in the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer). Each speaker has its own individual voice. These various voices and sounds create a constant series of soundscapes where you can walk through, sit in, or lie down.

The foundation for The Singing Parliament is the music piece Deus venerunt gentes by the English composer William Byrd. Byrd composed the piece in the late sixteenth century, when the Roman Catholic faith was prohibited in England. In the composition, Byrd incorporated his criticism of war and the destruction of holy places. The text can also be seen as an expression of the religious and political tensions of the time in England. Byrd, himself a Catholic, used the power of music to express his voice, despite the risk of persecution.

Schut complements Byrd's music with a series of sounds from his inexhaustible sound archive, which emanate from self-made speakers. With this, Schut bridges the past with the present with his own parliament in sound. With the 'real' Dutch House of Representatives around the corner, Schut's installation raises questions about democracy, whose voice is heard, and which sounds remain invisible or unheard.