Benjamin Scheuer: Acht Arten zu atmen

In the »Eight Ways of Breathing« sounds run in a circle–from the human being via technique and instrument back to the human being. My first ideas are not created in writing, but as close to the body as possible–sung. Every spontaneous human utterance gets the chance to become part of the musical story–the sounds should be a direct reflection of our environment, it is not sorted out and optimized according to high aesthetic criteria. The sounding found objects are often humorous, strange and full of extra-musical associations that do not even have to be verbally named. With various toys and sound objects I try to recreate the sounds, thus approximating them to an accordion or a clarinet. The performers are involved early in the creation process–I confront them with the insoluble task of imitating my toy sounds. Their alternative suggestions become samples. Through their transcription, the first written level of the composition is created; inspired by this, the score can be freely spun on. In »Querschnitt« the simultaneity of all these musical layers manifests itself. But the sounds are not subject to any hierarchy, there is no »progress«. The form does not didactically reflect the evolution of sounds, but each miniature combines the different stages of development according to its own whim. Through the occasional »singing along« of the musicians, the circle closes: they feel the basic course of tension–but not as imagined by me at the beginning, but in their own personal way.
Benjamin Scheuer