1996
Although it seems fairly obvious to create a sound installation with bells for these two churches, I think it is just as important to mention another idea which was also thematically relevant for the composition of the work. It is the 150th anniversary of the Kunstverein, I. e. 150 years of awareness of German culture and education. For people living in the early 19th century, the sound of perhaps distant bells, of bells ringing as if from beyond, was deeply significant. It connected that which was near with that which was far away, that which was above with that which was below, the macrocosm of the universe with the microcosm of the home. In Abendphantasie (Evening Fantasy), Friedrich H÷lderlin writes, 'Gastfreundlich t÷nt dem Wanderer im friedlichen Dorfe die Abendglocke' (In the wanderer's ears, the evening bell in the peaceful village has a welcoming ring). These words carry a great deal of the connotation of shelter inherent in the 'spiritual chime' of a church bell. Joseph von Eichendorff expressed the same idea even more sublimely in his poem Nachts (At Night): 'Ich stehe in Waldesschatten/Wie an des Lebens Rand_ Von fern nur schlagen die Glocken/_ber die W_lder herein_ Denn der Herr geht nber die Gipfel/Und segnet das stille Land'. (In the shade of the forest I stand/As if on the border of life_ From afar only the bells chime/Across the forests, _ For the Lord is crossing the peaks/Blessing the quiet land.) Since the German Romantic era, this transcendent connotation of the ringing of bells has been part of German culture. No doubt, it also influenced the German-descended Max Neuhaus, whose ancestor, Friedrich Neuhaus, built all the railway stations between Hamburg and Berlin, including the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin.
MNE-TEXT Archive
Image: Max Neuhaus Drawing study
Hamburger Bahnhof Sound work Proposal #2, 1996- Colored pencil on paper - 42x60 cm Collection: The Estate of Max Neuhaus Sound work references: Unrealized Proposal