Freitag

»Consolation–Criticism–Experiment–Harmony. The components and perspectives of contemporary composition are diverse, perhaps never more so than today. When Polish composer and singer Agata Zubel began working on her choral piece, she envisioned abstract images by Gerhard Richter in her mind’s eye: art where multiple layers of paint and abrasions form a complex graphic landscape, constantly creating new effects of colour and light. For Ulrich Kreppein, a text by the committed Spanish poet Federico García Lorca serves as the starting point for a piece that blends song and noise. For Younghi Pagh-Paan, late poems by Rose Ausländer provide the inspiration for a choral work that deals with death and the possibility of what comes after. Two instrumental premieres complement the three world premieres of the choral works: The duo Saviet/Houston performs new works by the young Turkish composer Zeynep Toraman and the Darmstadt-based Arne Gieshoff. Both composers capitalise on the duo’s great experimental spirit, creating a unique poetry of their own.«–Lydia Jeschke

 

The broad compositional range of the evening concert is complemented in the late-night concert by a conceptual format that we have been experiencing regularly at ECLAT in recent years: a type of total artwork, where a composer, starting from the music, also controls all the theatrical aspects–text, dramaturgy, direction, stage design, video, and even the rehearsal process.

 

One of these composers is François Sarhan, whose large-scale music theatre La Philosophie dans le Boudoir we produced at ECLAT in 2017. In Les Murs Meurent Aussi, he responds to the ongoing situation of war that Europe has faced for three years. This documentary music theatre piece raises questions about borders, walls, and the human conflicts that arise from these structures, and the impact on daily life. It is based on existing (YouTube) material and interviews with musicians who present their personal experiences–or those of their families–as if they were invited to a talk show or interviewed because they represent something extraordinary. »So sad, yet sometimes also hopefully amused by the state of the world«–this is how François Sarhan comments on his work.

 

Christine Fischer