Two sides and two journeys of Teoniki Rożynek.

A: Pathopoeia, a relocation: from the Netherlands to Poland.
B: Tomba Emmanuelle, a work trip: to Belgium.
Two sides and two spaces, two spatialities.
A: the Tonarium of the Soundscape Foundation and its multichannel system.
B: the inspiration of the Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, transposed onto a system of 16 vocal voices, 6 instruments, and 22-channel electronics.
A: the culmination of a residency.
B: a premiere at the 4th AżTak Festival.
Opposite directions, two different places, other means of expression—and the same extraordinary sensitivity with which Rożynek guides her sonic narrative. Two acousmonia, in which sound gradually gains vibration and density, finally blooming open and unfolding straight towards us.
Pathopoeia is a term borrowed from the theory of rhetorical figures used in Baroque music—codified melodic progressions with specific assigned meanings. This figure leads sounds downward, inserting chromatic sighs, notes clashing with the tonal whole. According to some sources, it is not so much a figure as a concept serving to unleash tragic emotions, even to evoke suffering. The resemblance to the word pathos is no coincidence.
In Rożynek’s composition, the bass—foundation of the entire structure—descends gloomily along this path. Other layers are built from various recordings: street sounds, fragments of never-finished pieces. Retrieved from the composer’s vast archive—an old thirteen-year-old hard drive—they form, as she herself puts it, a kind of geological cross-section of her life’s history. She brought them into the acoustics of the Tonarium, spread them across spherical speaker arrays, and guided them gently along the X, Y, and Z axes.
Tomba Emmanuelle is a museum-mausoleum created by Emanuel Vigeland. Its crypt is entirely covered in frescoes, where countless figures writhe and entwine. Inspired by ancient mythologies that never separated eroticism from death. All of it converges above in a strange barrel-vaulted ceiling, which fills the entire space with an uncanny reverberation. Though it could not be captured by a recorder, Rożynek managed to recreate it synthetically in the studio and conjure its spirit anew.
The electronic layer immersed in this resonance is built largely from microsamples. The composer peeled them off warped, skipping gramophone records—joyfully discovered at her lodging in Ghent, during a collaboration with a local theatre. Added to this are 22 voices (vocal and instrumental) and 22 sound channels, creating a sonic monument in which one could sit endlessly.
Marta Konieczna 

"Pathopoeia" recorded during the artistic residency in Tonarium - Laboratorium led by Soundscape Foundation.

"Tomba Emmanuelle" recorded during Ażtak Festival 2025 in Wanda Czełkowska Studio with Lilianna Krych, Hashtag Ensemble and MatchMatch Ensemble. Recorded by Jan Jędrzejczyk

Composition & production by Teoniki Rożynek / teonikirozynek.pl
Mix by Teoniki Rożynek and Rafał Ryterski
Mastering by Adam Badí Donoval / www.instagram.com/adambdonoval
Recorded in 2025

Artwork, layout & photography/scan 3D by Senka Milutinović / www.senkamilutinovic.com