This year, Gut Bennigsen once again shone with festive splendour as the 41st Christmas Market hosted by the Bennigsen Community Association (e.V.) opened its gates. Just in time for the start, the rain stopped, and the weather held steady throughout the entire weekend. A great number of lovely people came together to celebrate and enjoy this wonderful occasion – more than 7,000 visitors attended this time.

In the composition Wellen, I attempt to expand the listener’s experience of time and space by the dimension of “temporal memory”. Spatially arranged, not clearly locatable sounds and extremely stretched sections suspend conventional spatial perception and sharpen the awareness for the experience of a new, individual space/time level. It is an auditory journey into hidden worlds, revealed through our senses and imagination.

Who is this mysterious group of people living a hermit-like existence behind the walls of the venerable Rittergut Bennigsen? Travellers passing by speak of eerie sounds and chimes; some claim to have sensed soundwaves rising from deep within the earth. Now, the secret seems to be unravelling. Crumpled, handwritten notes circulating in the surrounding area extend an invitation.

The English choreographer Robert Robinson explores and investigates familial constellations within the artistic collective. His dance companions are creative fellow travellers on wide, open paths leading into the unknown.

For this year’s “Day of Open Monuments®” on Sunday, September 8, the brick barn was opened and made accessible for a brief visit. Free guided tours were offered by the architecture firm Wunder at 11:30am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm.

The Mingus Project is a band organised and led by Jorik Bergman. They perform The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, a 40-minute suite by Charles Mingus, alongside new arrangements of other Mingus compositions. Their programme premiered at the 11th edition of the Weekend Festival in Cologne.

Wiebke and Johannes Thomsen curate a cinema programme at Gut Bennigsen featuring explosive independent new releases, curious cinematic gems, and wild visual intensity.

Florence Adooni, the queen of Frafra gospel, effortlessly blends the wandering melodies of northern Ghana with the highlife rhythms of the Ashanti. Her debut single Mam Pe’ela Su’ure on Philophon Records showcases her soulful talent and extraordinary voice. Drawing influences from both the northern savannah and the rainforest, her music captivates with charm and depth.

By now, the career of Ghanaian artist Alogte Oho has taken him across Europe — but it wasn’t always that way. At first, his musical journey progressed in small steps, until a life-changing experience altered everything. The result was his first hit, Mam Yinne Wa (“God, You Love Me So”), which catapulted Alogte Oho to the top of the Frafra gospel scene overnight.

When we’re invited, we come and play,” says Abindi, a member of the Tuareg music group Etran de L’Aïr. True to their word, the renowned band is following our invitation all the way to Germany — to share their unique blend of diverse traditional sounds and contemporary music, and to celebrate together with us.

Bombino is an outstanding musician from Niger who fuses traditional Tuareg sounds with blues and rock. His captivating rhythms and powerful guitar riffs have earned him international acclaim, making him the first Grammy-nominated artist from his country. Following his world tour, he now performs at Gut Bennigsen.

The Finnish band Maustetytöt, formed by sisters Kaisa and Anna Karjalainen, captivates with catchy melodies and lyrical depth. With over 10 million streams and three best-selling albums, they have established themselves as one of Finland’s most beloved bands. They gained international recognition through collaborations with Agents and Aki Kaurismäki. “Impossibly cool,” writes The New York Times.