Samuel Beckett, Company (2019)
Light infinitely faint it is true since now no more than a mere murmur.
With my thanks to Carl Rosman, Helen Bledsoe, Matthias Bauer, Antje Thierbach und Bettina Junge
Kompositionsauftrag von kultur:schaffen für die Station Innsbruck für das Festival für aktuelles Musiktheater
„Die sieben Leben des Maximilian“ im Rahmen des Maximilianjahres 2019, finanziert durch das Land Tirol und die Stadt Innsbruck.
The strokes now faint now clear as if carried by the wind but not a breath and the cries now faint now clear.
Samuel Beckett: Stirrings Still. 1986-89, John Calder Publisher, London.
Light infinitely faint it is true since now no more than a mere murmur....
In dark and silence to close as if to light the eyes and hear a sound. Some object moving from its place to its last place. S ome soft thing softly stirring soon to stir no more. To darkness visible
to close the eyes and hear if only that. Some soft thing stirring soon to stir no more....
By the voice a faint light is shed. Dark lightens while it sounds. Deepens when it ebbs. Lightens with flow back to faint ful l. Is whole again when it ceases.
Samuel Beckett: Company. 1980, John Calder Publisher, London.
Stirring Still III is the fourth work in a series of quiet and fragile collage compositions (2006-2019).
The seven musicians are dispersed throughout the performance space. Their individual pianissimo solo lines are quasi sound su rfaces, which are juxtaposed and fused together in both time and space, seeking a dialogue with the surrounding architecture and acoustic. A single acoustic landscape made of quiet sound images, fragile, like echos or resonances, is enclosed within itself, encircling and neverending.
Rather like a large mobilé which can be observed from numerous perspectives, this quasi-static sonic image is projected into audible space.
RS, Innsbruck, June 2019
for alto flute in G, oboe, clarinet in A, percussion 1 bells, percussion 2 crotales, piano and double bass General
All Winds
Intimate, almost spoken, gentle. Each line is fragile and imperfect. Bring out melodic line of fragments. Encourage pulsing between microtonal intervals. Exact fingerings given in the parts for all dyads/bi-tones. Extra single tone with glissando material: extend + repeat this as feel in dialogue with each other. Additional or extended entries possible.
Acoustic should be very resonant.
Positions
In each space the architectural characteristics and acoustics determine the spatial positions of the ensemble. See positions plan of the first performance for an example. In this example, the audience looked down from above on the musicians from above, as is observing a ritual. For this listening situation the acoustic
resonant, like a church.
The initial positions are widely spaced. The final positions are close to the piano. Grand piano is positioned in centre of performing space. Clarinet and alto flute are always separated, but always close enough for their parts to merge and create difference tones. Percussion 2 crotales start far from the oboe, possibly placed high up. Percussion 1 + 2 at opposite sides of the space. Percussion 1 is at a distance to the piano.
Please note all musicians gradually move towards central space by their final II or III position!
Balance dynamics as closely as possible. Encourage beatings and difference tones in all ranges with the spacial positioning. Although each instrument plays for itself, listen to the resultant sounds and play with it from time to time, encouraging dialogue.
Position changes
Timings of position changes are given in the timeline. Oboe, alto flute, clarinet-in-A, double bass and crotales change their positions. The parts are thus prepared on separate pages for the placing of different music stands in the performance space. Oboe, alto flute and clarinet change positions at least once while playing - please learn these relevant simple high tones/gestures by heart. The crotales can be moved to the second position for the player by a helper if necessary.
Walking
Before and during the piece the players walk very slowly, almost like a procession. Elegant, simple and controlled. The double bass can stop to place the instrument on the ground as often as necessary.
The audience is not mobile.
Timeline
There is a timeline and separate parts for each instrument. Each musician has their own part and a stop watch. Each player plays the sound surface independently, according to the start and stop times given in the timeline and parts. The end times should be adhered to as closely as possible, but do finish the phrase or melodic fragment, going over the given duration as necessary. There is much freedom within each line. Keep your own tempo, resist fitting to the tempi of other instruments.
The alto flute ends the piece at ,or just after, 20:00. All instruments hold their position still for 15 seconds after the flute stops, before relaxing to indicate the end of the piece. Duration is ca 20´15.
Start the stop watches backstage together. The players then enter the space together and disperse very slowly to their positions. On arriving at their positions immediately (wait in position for maximum 15 - 20 seconds) re-set the stop watches after the agreed time, e.g 1 or 2 minutes since setting the stop watches, to 0:00 - "Stop, re-set, start" exactly together - this needs to be timed and rehearsed carefully too!
The juxtaposition of the 7 parts create a spatialised collage structure where, although certain formal characteristics faithfully reappear each time it is played, each performance varies considerably.
RS, June 2019
Percussion 1 bells
4 Alu. Bells 4 Aluminium bells**, hung, pitched F-1/4-sharp 5 to G5. Extremely resonant pure, almost sinus tones.
Coil 2 car coils. Old metal, complex + resonant. Hung.
Alto flute
Standing. Five dyads (1.-5.), fingerings given in score. Dyad 3. re-take or tenuto when 3. follows another bi-tone. Dyad 2. at ∗ ossia: play B (2nd trill key) with little finger for legato.
Use bisigliando or fluttertongue to stabilise some of the dyads if and when necessary. Bring out arc of each phrase - gentle melodic fragments. Encourage difference tone beatings with the clarinet line.
Bring out the ordinary tone and the high harmonics - connect the high overtone with the oboe and percussion 2 bells. Music G is played while walking, and is in dialogue with the high ord. oboe and high ord. clarinet gestures.
3 positions: I = A B C D E-F A; walking to II = G; II = A B C; walking to III = G G; III = A B C D E-F
TT 1 small tamtam, hung.
BP 1 bell plate in very lowest bass octave one of C1 - Eb1.
Rin 6 rins on the timpani skin (arco) - pitches gb4, c5, db5, d5, Eb5, f5.
Timp 1 large Timpani circa 32", scordatura pegs ca. fourth lower - only for the Rins, not played.
BD Large deep low natural skin bass drum
** Alu. Bells available from the composer via Edition Peters. For beaters, see the part.
Very spacious, timeless.
This solo connects to all of the other solos - listen carefully, seeking dialogue: Oboe and piano for the Alu. Bells F to G tones; Clarinet and Alto Flute for the Rins Gb + C to Eb tones; piano and double bass for the bass drum and bell plate sounds. Balance your dynamics and sounds in particular with the piano and play the melodic fragments in dialogue.
Clarinet in A
Standing - use a back strap and/or a step up for one leg, e.g. for a guitar player, or a low stool, to make this possible, one prepared in each position.
Written in A - the Clarinet in A fingerings correspond to the Boehm system.
17 dyads, fingerings and exact microtonal intervals given at (i), which correspond to the pitches notated in the score as shown at (ii). Use bisigliando or fluttertongue to stabilise some of the dyads if necessary.
ς fluttertongue (squiggle on stem FLZ)
x underblown tones (cross on stem)
Encourage difference tone beatings with the alto flute line and percussion 2 rins .
Bring out the ordinary tones and crescendi. Music G is played while walking, and is in dialogue with the high ord. expressive oboe line, the high ord. alto flute gestures, and the lower octave crotales.
3 positions: I = A B C D E F; @II = G1, II = A B C; walking to III = G2 G3; III = B D E F
Oboe
7 double harmonics (1.-7.). ppp also for 6. and 7. All as legato as possible and allow the natural „air“ timbre to be audible. Experiment with different reeds to play these fragile sounds.
Always bring out the melodic line of the double harmonics, balancing with the flute and clarinet carefully. Hear the connection to the flautando sul pont double bass tones.
Connect the lower tones of the double harmonics with the bells of percussion 1.
Ordinary tones with pause: add vibrato, an open sound, expressive large solo crescendo stretching through the whole performance space. Music G is played while walking, and is in dialogue with the high ord. clarinet, the high ord. alto flute gestures, and the lower octave crotales.
3 positions: I = A B C D; walking to II = G1 F: II = G3 G1 D E F; walking to III G2: III = C E F
Percussion 2 crotales
Top octave and lowest three semitones, and two violoncello bows for maximum flexibility.
Play each melodic fragment quickly with two bows, letting chromatic cluster resonate as much as possible.
Vary speed and dynamics - the dynamics are very flexible and vary according to the balance in the space. Allow a few entries to be louder and more dominant, and then return to basic pianissimo dynamic level.
Music E is in dialogue with the high ord. expressive oboe line.
2 positions: I = 0:00 - 15:00; II = 16:00 - end.
Grand piano
No third pedal required. Lid fully open, or remove lid completely, depending on visuals in the performing space.
Connect the low chromatic clusters and Inside sounds with the double bass and the bass drum + bell plate of Percussion 1. Connect the treble melodic line/s with the winds and in particular with the bells and rins of Percussion 1. Should the double bass be positioned in the curve of the piano, listen very closely to each other. See the Legende in the part.
ς expressive wide single vibrato pulse on start of (squiggle on stem)
x SP extreme marcato sF accent (cross on stem)
Bring out the high overtones when playing SP flaut., gently tracing a high melodic line. The overtones combine with the wind multiphonics and the piano resonances.
Connect in particular the sul pont overtones with the oboe dyads. Connect with the low chromatic clusters and Inside piano sounds of the piano, and with the bass drum and bell plate of percussion 1.
Should the double bass be positioned in the curve of the piano, listen very closely to each other.
3 positions: I = A A2 B C D E F, A A2 F2: II = I J K K2 G H; III = A B C D K K2
