«Eleusis» for large orchestra
This piece takes the form of a large, expansive mycelium, with the entire orchestra distributed throughout the space. The model for this arrangement is the tree mycelia of fungi, such as honey fungus, where the fungal network can extend over an area of up to 9 km² (see Wikipedia "Mycelium"). Recent research suggests that trees can communicate over long distances using these fungal networks, and similarly, the orchestral musicians communicate via a sonic network throughout the entire space, partly coordinated by the conductor, partly in independently acting groups.
Another important inspiration for the piece comes from the American mycologist Paul Stamets, who has consistently pointed to the psychologically balancing and happiness-promoting effects of hallucinogenic mushroom substances such as psilocybin and who enjoys an almost cult-like following that recognizes in the mushrooms a kind of divine means of connection with all that exists.
This opens a window far into the past, to the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, where, as archaeobiological studies have shown, psilocybin was also used. (Brian C. Muraresku: "The Immortality Key") All accounts of this experience speak of a profound harmony, a dissolution of the sense of self, and a global interconnectedness with all of creation.
The piece can therefore also be understood as a kind of ritual act, in which we fall into a trance through the ingestion of highly dosed musical events, in order to achieve, entirely without the use of drugs, the same feeling of happiness that Paul Stamets and the Eleusinian Mysteries describe.
– Stefan Wirth
