MOONDOG’s Cosmos
The project is built on an unpublished late work by Moondog (Louis T. Hardin, 1916-1999). The composer spent the last 30 years of his life in Germany studying harmonics. Out of that research came “Cosmos”: a double series of eight canons, each running over 1000 bars, written for nine hours of music and a thousand musicians. The score sat for decades in cardboard boxes in Braille notation and was never performed.
In 2023, filmmakers Victor Chevet and Hugo Barral traced the piece to Andi Toma (Mouse on Mars), who had produced the album Elpmas with Moondog in 1991. Toma and Moritz Simon Geist took on the musical direction and developed a robotic composiotion: a room-scale system of sounding resonator tubes that gives the voices of the canon a physical presence. Together with orchestral musicians this becomes a performance and installation.
The world premiere takes place in Freiburg in July 2027. Supported by Musikfonds.
CONTACTS
Production & Booking: Anika Jankowski anika@studio-msg.com
Art Direction & Performance Moritz Simon Geist : moritz@sonicrobots.com
Art Direction & Composition Andi Toma : atoma@gmx.net
Idea & Film Victor Chevet : vchevetpoisneuf@gmail.com
Idea & Film Hugo Barral : hubarral@gmail.com
Performance Details
COSMOS is modular and adaptable to concert halls, museums, industrial spaces, or festival spaces.
Duration: 9 hours of immersive live performance (conceived as an open-door, long-form concert experience).
Lineup: Electronics (Andi Toma), Robotics (Moritz Simon Geist), 5-25 orchestral musicians.
Load-in, Setup: 2 to 4 days, depending on the scale and venue specifications.
Exhibition Extension: Following the live event, the entire setup and Moondog Exhibition can remain in the venue as an autonomous, walkthrough sound / light installation for several days, offering an open space for public interaction.
Team
Artistic Direction: Andi Toma (Mouse on Mars), Moritz Simon Geist.
Idea & Film: Victor Chevet & Hugo Barral (Filmmakers, conducting a long-term documentary feature).
Musicological Advisory: Amaury Cornut (Moondog expert) & Wolfgang Gnida.
Project Management: Anika Jankowski (Oh, my music! publisher).
World Premiere: February 2027 at Theater Freiburg, featuring the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of André de Ridder.
Funding: Funded by Musikfonds e.V.
