The Golden Glows have been collaborating with Mr. Pieter Theuns and his ensemble Baroque Orchestration X for many years. In ‘A Folksongbook’ the Glows set original music to the ancient words of American murder ballads and folk songs, B.O.X provided powerful musical embellishment.

Our new joint show ‘On Moonlight and Rain’ stretches the canvas a bit further: the vocal three-part harmony is backed up by a baroque orchestra of twelve players, while Icelandic producer Valgeir Siggurðsson provides live electronics and arrangements.

Song wise, On Moonlight and Rain draws a straight line from the supernatural imagery in A Folksongbook. We created ten ghost songs, based on a collection of supernatural Japanese tales from the 17^th Century. Our show follows the rhythm, the flow and the broad structure of the literary masterpiece Ugetsu Monogatari.

Our visual world is also rooted in historical popular entertainment. We dove into early cinema and analogue projection techniques and found out that Magic Lanterns, early precursors of the cinematograph, were modified in the 18^th Century to raise ghosts in a stage show, the Phantasmagoria. ‘The art to make ghosts talk’ was an invention of the Belgian avant-la-lettre Étienne Gaspard Robert or Robertson—part physicist, showman and adventurer—who used projection techniques to shock audiences throughout Europe to great notoriety. Our analogue lighting effects and techniques, designed by Lucas Vanhaesbroeck, are inspired by his practice.

On Moonlight and Rain balances past and present. Enhanced by lush colors in sound and light, in a signature Glows’ way, we’re bringing the ghost show to the 21^st Century.