Description:
In this episode we present “Beehiving”, a collective sound piece created by Luis Costa, Rui Costa, and Manuela Barile for the Italian cultural organization Stazione di Topolò, in the border between Udine province and Slovenia. It was initially presented in 2010 as part of the 24-hour live and web event “To Be Continued,” which brought together works from artists worldwide reflecting on health, physical and mental well-being, disease prevention, and medical education.
This sound journey explores the aural and symbolic world of bees and beekeepers in the rural Portugal, emphasizing both the anthropological and the metaphorical significance of the hive as a functioning community.
The sound piece immerses listeners in the natural rhythms and hums of the beehive, in the voices of beekeepers, addressing the complexities of the world of beekeeping, and in electronic and vocal experimentations, metaphorically suggesting a balance between nature and human care.
The activity of bees and their complex social behavior serve as a sonic analogy for the interconnectedness of physical and psychological health. Through this auditory experience, the piece proposes a deeper understanding of the ancient practice of beekeeping and its relevance to contemporary concerns about well-being and environmental harmony.
Medieval texts frequently mention beekeeping as a model of social organization. Authors such as Albertus Magnus and Hildegard of Bingen wrote about the hive, noting the division of labor and cooperation among bees as a reflection of ideal community structures. In his treatise “De Animalibus,” Albertus Magnus described the bees’ roles and their collective effort, drawing a comparison to human society’s need for order and collaboration.
Similarly, Hildegard’s writings connected the harmony within the hive to spiritual and social health, suggesting that the success of a community depends on the care and responsibility shared by all its members.
By engaging with the traditions of Portuguese apiarists through this sound piece, listeners are invited to reflect on how community can inform our understanding of social cohesion today. Just as bees construct their hive with precision, cooperation, and resilience, human societies require attention, mutual support, and a shared sense of purpose to thrive.
What is a thermal bath?
Each cell maintains a double movement
Of assimilation and dissimilation,
In other words, life.
The skin breathes, being traversed by substances.
Which in turn come into contact with other cells
So, knowing the characteristics of water,
The benefits of the respective chemical agents are assumed.
Baths of water that spring forth hot,
water with medicinal virtues
due to the minerals through which they pass
Before bursting forth onto the earth.