DIVINE INTIMACIES
Tangram presents a programme featuring Chinese and Western instruments, showcasing how ancient divination practices have inspired music, ritual, and performance for over 1,000 years.
2026 Divine Intimacies
UK Tour
April 2026 - Oct 2026, curated by Garwyn Linnell
Inspired by one of the earliest texts of Chinese philosophy, Divine Intimacies explores how nearly a thousand years of musical thought can be translated into contemporary sound.
The Music
During the performance, visual representations of hexagrams from the ancient Chinese text I-Ching (The Book of Changes) will be generated in real time, projected around the space. These combinations of Yin and Yang guide a series of structured improvisations between the musicians, shaping the music and allowing each performance to take a different path. Music by Kaija Saariaho, John Cage and J S Bach appears alongside a medieval chant by Hildegard von Bingen, ancient Chinese ritual drumming, and works by Yang Yong and Toshio Hosokawa. Although separated by time, geography and musical language, these works share a sensitivity to resonance, stillness and the subtle forces that shape the natural world.
The Artists
The musicians will be surrounded by a responsive LED installation created by artist Ke Peng, with visuals by Chang Meng. Light shifts in colour and pattern across the performance, forming a changing visual landscape around the musicians.
The Programme
Trad.Wind and Thunder Drumming
Hildegard von Bingen O vis eternitatis
Yang Yong River Song
Kaija Saariaho Six Japanese Gardens
Trad. Peach Blossom Spring
John Cage Four³
Toshio Hosokawa Small Chant
J S Bach Allemande from Partita in A minor BWV 1013
Trad. I-Ching Improvisations
Yi-Hsuan Chen flute
Peng Cheng erhu
Garwyn Linnell cello
Kang Yang guzheng
Behind the Scenes
Hear ideas behind Divine Intimacies
PK, Garwyn Linnel and Kang Yang (from left to right)
Credits.
* Autumn tour performer