HALLOWED LUNGS
''Accordion can sound very sexy, especially if it's in Kimmo Pohjonen's hands".
-Cosmopolitan Slovenia
Hallowed Lungs
Kimmo Pohjonen – organ-accordion, voice
Mikko Helenius – organ, voice
Tuomas Norvio – sound design and live electronics
Hallowed Lungs by Kimmo Pohjonen is a work for organ, accordion and electronics, a
dialogue between corporeal breathing, electrical current and a massive architecture of air. The divergent history of the two instruments — the sacred organ and the secular
accordion — causes not so much a conflict as a tension fostering a common breathing
space.
Back in the day, church leaders condemned the accordion as an unholy instrument. It was absolutely forbidden to play it in church. “Where the Devil is about, the accordion plays” has been a common saying in various forms around the world. Religion is also often used as a pretext for war. The true motives, however, are usually political, economical or ethnic. When men in positions of power lean on religion to legitimise war, the people accept this as justified, even though the tenets of most religions specifically advocate for peace, compassion and respect for human dignity. Human dignity is indivisible and sacred. The lungs of every human being, no matter what their religion, skin colour or any other distinguishing feature, breathe the same air. Hallowed Lungs introduces a yearning to breathe clean air and also a dream of peace and of respect for our fellow humans.
This work continues the collaboration of the trio Pohjonen, Helenius and Norvio, which began with Ultra Organ, premiered at the Cologne Philharmonie in 2017.
The music is by Kimmo Pohjonen. Sound engineer Tuomas Norvio made a compositional
contribution to the final product, and Mikko Helenius provided significant creative input in creating the sound of the organ in the work.
