René Clemencic was a composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist, director, and founder of two ensembles for early music. Clemencic is well known for his performances on early woodwind instruments, particularly as a recorder soloist. He performed works ranging from music of the medieval period to avant-garde compositions and played over twenty different flutes and recorders in notable works such as Flauto Magico (1987).

Clemencic’s original compositions include oratorios in ancient languages such as Greek and Hebrew, reflecting his exploration of what he describes as the “symbolism of sound.” In the artist’s own words, “I attempt to use sounds and sound complexes as acoustic symbols and ciphers for inner experiences and discoveries. Sounds and sound gestures must achieve their magical effects as such.”

In 1958, Clemencic founded the ensemble Musica Antiqua and ten years later, Clemencic Consort, both of which have made an array of repertories from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance available to a modern audience for the first time in concert. The Clemencic Consort, an ensemble of international instrumentalists and vocalists varying in composition and size, focuses on the production of Baroque operas.

For Luna Luna, Clemencic created an original composition for Hubert Aratym’s installation: a play on the classic carnival attraction which invites audiences to insert their faces into cut-outs of various characters.