
The Blue Hour
The Blue Hour was shown at Christiansborg Palace, 2023.
The blue hour describes the time of day when the sun sets and twilight descends. The center of the sun is below the horizon, and the blue wavelengths of light color the sky. Day fades, and night is on its way. Throughout history, people have marked this transition, gathered for the twilight hour, and allowed for a slower pace. We mark ‘The Blue Hour’ in Christiansborg Palace – The Chapel, creating a space for reflection with a new sound and light installation by Den Sorte Skole and Spøgelsesmaskinen.

The Blue Hour is a site-specific installation created to the architecture and acoustics of the chapel. Instead of directing attention upward along the central axis toward the altar, a circle of light and sound is created in the center of the room, surrounding the audience. This immersive experience means there is no single correct perspective from which to experience the work, but rather a range of possible openings.
In The Blue Hour, the sounds are built around the principle of Shepard’s tone, which creates an auditory illusion of a tonal sequence that continuously descends in pitch but in reality, returns to its starting point over and over again. Instead of a linear progression, an endless descent is created, allowing the audience to delve deeper and deeper into the twilight. The same applies to the light, created by Spøgelsesmaskinen. Ten lamps, shaped in glass and metal, are arranged in a circle. The light moves with the sounds, emphasizing the blue transition in the natural light outside.
The work can be experienced in the fall, opening when the sun sets and ending when there is no longer blue light in the sky. The Blue Hour in Christiansborg Palace – The Chapel marks the twilight and provides an opportunity for deep reflection between light and darkness.
The Blue Hour is supported by WS Audiology A/S.
