| Maker | Yannis Kyriakides & MAZE |
| Duration | 45 min |
Lingua Ignota is a mysterious, one-of-a-kind listening experience where music is created through text, instructions, and live processes. The work is based on the twelfth-century “unknown language” of one of the Middle Ages’ most influential female figures: Hildegard of Bingen.
Her mystical language, with no known grammatical structure, is encoded into a kind of musical dictionary. During this concert, you’ll hear ensemble MAZA generate live melodies from that system, using bass clarinet, electronics, guitar, and vocals by Kristia Michael.
This remarkable work by award-winning composer and sound artist Yannis Kyriakides was commissioned in 2025 by the Greek National Opera. Thanks to Festival Dag in de Branding, Lingua Ignota can now be experienced live in the Netherlands.
During Festival Dag in de Branding, The Hague’s stages, the Residentie Orkest, and various ensembles invite you to discover music so fresh and diverse that it offers a true cross-section of today’s soundscape. Catch performances across the city, meet the latest composers, and chat with musicians about their fascinations and intentions.
As a composer and sound artist, Yannis Kyriakides explores new forms and hybrid media that challenge the way we listen. He has received several awards, including the Willem Pijper Prijs and the Toonzetters Prijs.
He is the founder of the ensemble MAZE and has appeared as a composer at festivals such as November Music and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Together with Andy Moor (The Ex), with whom he frequently collaborates, and Isabelle Vigier, he co-founded the contemporary music label Unsounds.
Kyriakides is a lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. He studied with Louis Andriessen and Dick Raaijmakers after completing a degree in musicology in York. He currently lives in Amsterdam, where he is working on a catalog of more than 200 compositions.
Anne La Berge: Flute and electronics
Dario Calderone: Double bass
Gareth Davis: Bass clarinet
Reinier van Houdt: Piano, keyboard and electronics
Wiek Hijmans: Electric guitar
Yannis Kyriakides: computer and electronics
With special guest, Kristia Michael: vocals
Korzo Studio