MOTO – MEMBRA JESU NOSTRI

Subtitled performance.

The Teatro Arriaga brings out this 2022 gem from its collection of in-house productions to offer a very special performance. The work is a staging of the *Membra Jesu Nostri* concert composed by Dietrich Buxtehude in 1680.

The piece is a staging of the *Membra Jesu Nostri* concert, composed by Dietrich Buxtehude in 1680. This cycle of seven cantatas dedicated to the feet, knees, hands, side, chest, and heart of Christ will be interwoven with a text written and performed by actor Eneko Sagardoy, telling the story of a man who disappears forever in an alleged motorcycle accident and the love of the one who remains.

The boldness and talent of the composer, the rigor of his approach, the innovation in form, and a constant search for perfection in each of his works are the hallmarks of a musician worthy of being compared to Johann Sebastian Bach. The exquisite musical direction of Andoni Sierra and the sound of the Conductus Ensemble combine with a contemporary scene designed by Lucía Astigarraga in a performance made of questions: “How much do our bodies speak of us? What remains of you in your lifeless body? What remains of us in the places where we loved each other? No one will know of you, no one will know of me, no one will know of us. If the coroner asked the road on which you lie, I know it would whisper my name.”

Cycle of Cantatas in Seven Parts – BuxWV 75
I. Ad Pedes
II. Ad Genua
III. Ad Manus
IV. Ad Gatus
V. Ad Pectus
VI. Ad Cor
VII. Ad Faciem

About the stage proposal

When we see death, it is rarely our own, yet we project ourselves onto its reflection and torment ourselves with unanswered questions about our fate. Loss generates unbearable pain. It is an accidental death of someone loved, instant and unforeseen, with no apparent cause or justification. Delirium can confuse everything, beautify the past, dramatically darken our view of the world, or lead us to recreate lived situations in a loop and immerse ourselves in continuous obsessive analysis. The “I” interacts with “the others” and recreates itself in search of comfort and hope, often unable to satisfy such needs. The music sings of Christ’s death, the great universal tragedy that becomes private and personal at some point in every life. The body and its parts form a single actor, who inhabits two souls. Eneko recalls Josu’s love and swims in the forest of his childhood with the sole purpose of understanding his loss.