Bis, Encore, Zugabe — addition to a concert program, a response to prolonged applause from enthusiastic listeners. In today’s concert practice, this sometimes involves a repetition of a previously performed piece or an excerpt. More often, performers choose and play a shorter piece spontaneously, which is not announced in the concert program. Whether virtuosic, contemplative, or emotionally charged, its purpose is to extend the musical enjoyment and the dialogue that the performers have established with the audience.
If we were to extract the encore, much like a musical recording, from the context of the concert event and examine it psychoanalytically, we would generally find a deep affection from the audience, and music as a returning and intensifying emotion that echoes through the labyrinths of their thoughts.
The composition Bis is a microscopic look into the fabric of such a concert insert.