As a conclusion of Leeuwarden Cultural Capital and as a follow-up to the exhibition about artist M.C. Escher in the Fries Museum (Frisian Museum), the Noord-Nederlands Orkest (Northern Dutch Orchestra), in collaboration with WERC, presented a concert with works by Bach.

For this performance, the connection between Bach and Escher was explored. In this exploration, the mathematical approach of both artist served as a starting point. M.C. Escher worked with mathematical principles and Bach is known for the use of metric and numbers in his compositions.

For this performance, WERC was asked to create images with the music, which consisted of the nine-minute composition ‘Toccata in D’ by Bach. WERC programmed real-time visuals that followed the music of the Northern Dutch Orchestra. By using the computer as an instrument and playing live, WERC sought a direct interaction with the music and the musicians on stage.

WERC was inspired by M.C. Escher’s mathematical approach and posed the question “What would Escher make if he had 3D modeling software at his disposal?” Escher’s well-known cube and his optical illusions formed important elements in these live-generated visuals.