»Walls are Tumbling Down«

A cantata as musical protest

"We are individuals whom many assume cannot coexist harmoniously. Yet, it is precisely our differences that empower us. Together, we create music, celebrate this diversity, and discover within it the foundation of a profound friendship.“ I. Quraishi

Public dress rehearsal

Date: 10 February 2025
Genre: New Music Concert
Time: 20:00
Duration: approx. 40 minutes
Venue: Kleines Haus, Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Glacisstraße 28, 01099 Dresden
Admission: Free

On 10 February 2025, Dresden will be the centre of a very special artistic event: Eunice Martins and Ibrahim Quraishi will make a powerful statement against exclusion, hatred and prejudice with their intercultural cantata Walls Are Tumbling Down.

Inspired by the story of the fall of Jericho, shofars, percussion, electronics, vocals and rebellious sounds merge into a powerful message - a passionate call for solidarity, resistance and change.

Since June 2024, Martins and Quraishi have been working not only to assemble a temporary ensemble of over 20 musicians, but also to compose the cantata through a participatory process. The majority of this ensemble is made up of artists living in Dresden. Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Afro-German and native Saxon voices combine with narratives in Hebrew, Arabic, Yiddish and German. This unique work sends a clear signal against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism.

The rehearsals took place in highly symbolic locations that reflect the challenges faced by marginalised groups in Germany. The general rehearsal will be presented as part of the Staatsschauspiel Dresden's MontagsCafé - a transcultural meeting place where migration and culture can be experienced as living processes. Here the cantata becomes a dialogue about social cohesion and a celebration of what unites us.

During rehearsals, the music caused the Carola Bridge to collapse. Like the walls of Jericho, the bridge fell as if in response to the power of the sounds. Is it a warning? Perhaps. But one thing is certain: the cantata calls for the demolition of false bridges - bridges that support intolerance, hatred and injustice. The collapse is a reminder that it is time to build new, better bridges that promote understanding and solidarity. The bridge may have fallen, but the message remains: Together we can bring down walls and connect the world.

Participants: The ensemble consists of more than 20 musicians from different backgrounds, including members of the Synagogal Choir of the Jewish Community of Dresden and the Youth Chamber Choir of the Singakademie Dresden conducted by Michael Käppler.

Be there when the walls come down and art rebuilds the bridges of humanity.

WALLS are Tumbling Down - Temporary Ensemble and other participants

The temporary ensemble consists of more than 20 musicians from different backgrounds, including people of Jewish faith, Arabs and Afro-Germans. The narrative voices within the cantata are spoken by Dorthea Wagner (DE), Leon Glauning (DE), Komi Togbonou (DE/TG), Khalid Abubakar (YE/SD) in German, Arabic, Yiddish and Hebrew. Some of the rehearsals took place in public and in symbolic places that reflect the challenges of life for marginalised people in Germany.


Composition: Ibrahim Quraishi (KE/US/FR/DE) / Eunice Martins (DE/BE/PT)
Concept development: Gabriel Smeets (NL)
Arranger: Hiroyo Masumura (JP/AT)
Conductor: Sara Isabel Grajales Tamayo (CO/AT)
Spacial architecture: Luka Murovec (DE/SE)
Interactive/sound architecture: Steffen Armbruster, Uli Dziallas, USOMO.de
Video/edit/camera: Andreas Ullrich (DE), Rubén González Escudero (ES/DE)


Musicians/ensemble:

Yara Abou Fakher (SY/DE) - violin, Diana Bikbaev (UA) - viola, Danielle Akta (IL/DE) - cello, Katrin Meingast (DE) - cello, Avery Gosfield (US/IT) - shofar, flute, Isabell Warm (DE) - flute, Elisabeth Becker (DE) - oboe, Eduardo Mota (BR/DE) - percussion, Georg Wieland Wagner (DE) - marimba, vibraphone, Samuel Dietze (DE) - percussion, Shimon Friedberg (IL) - shofar, David Limburger (IL) - shofar, Dorothea Wagner (DE) - soprano, Leon Gauning (DE) - baritone, Komi Togbonou (DE/TG) - narrator, Khalid Abubakar (SO/LU) - narrator, Synagogal Choir of the Jewish Community of Dresden and the Youth Chamber Choir of the Singakademie Dresden conducted by Michael Käppler (DE).

"WALLS are Tumbling Down" is a project by Ibrahim Quraishi and Eunice Martins, which is being realised in close collaboration with the Monday Café of the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, the Dresden Synagogue Choir Association, the PRPGND Fundacja Propaganda Warsaw, the C. Rockefeller Center for the Contemporary Arts Dresden, the CYNETART platform and the Netzwerk | Medien | Kunst Dresden. The project is being realised by art.revolution and Katrin Meingast.



»WALLS are Tumbling Down« wird gefördert durch den Musikfonds und der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, sowie den Kultur- und Kunstministerien der Länder, sowie aus Mitteln der Landeshauptstadt Dresden, Amt für Kultur und Denkmalschutz und der Stiftung Kunst und Musik für Dresden und dem Netzwerk Medienkunst Dresden (NMK).