In the early 1980s
Luigi Nono increasingly became a regular
guest of the ‘Experimentalstudio der
Heinrich-Strobel-Stiftung’ which exists
within the complex of the Sudwestrundfunk
in Freiburg. He was joined from time
to time by Klaus Huber, Dieter Schnebel
and other German avant-gardists. Nono,
of course, was Italian, had differing
sensibilities and also had a very sensitive
and original mind.
‘Das atmende Klarsein’
was written over a period of three years
during which time he was also working
on his Prometheus opera and ‘Io frammento’.
Steven Lindberg tells us in the booklet
that André Richard founded the
‘Solistenchor Freiburg’ especially for
"a performance and recording of
Nono’s ‘Das atmende Klarsein’. During
the rehearsals and many sound experiments
... Nono found the young ensemble had
the qualities of voice and expressiveness
he needed for his compositional work".
These recordings date
from 2001 and were made during a concert
in the series ‘Zeitfluss’ in collaboration
with the Salzburg Festival. Lindberg
goes on, "Interpreters who had
performed the work during Nono’s lifetime
were engaged for the recordings whenever
possible. The live electronics were
also produced using the devices and
instruments used by Nono." Hence
in the booklet we have pictures of the
composer in the studio during the 1981
performance and working at the consul
alongside André Richard.
Before hearing these
two long and important works I prepared
myself for Nono’s unique sound-world
by listening again to the brief ‘A Carlo
Scarpa, architetto’(1984) on Astrée
E8741. This work is amazingly quiet
with long silences. Revisiting it enabled
me to hone my concentration. Then I
turned to the shortest work on this
CD first, a course of action I would
recommend.
‘Das Atmende Klarsein’
falls into eight sections each separately
tracked. Each chorus movement headed
by a single word is followed by one
for the bass flute which as the piece
progresses becomes increasingly distorted
by the electronic effects. Extraordinary
noises are created partially as a result
of the playing techniques Nono specifices
but also due to the constant alteration
of the sound source. Silence also plays
a significant part in the work which
is very austere and hardly rises above
mp except in just a few very
telling places.
Many of the general
comments already made apply to ‘Io frammento’
on this its premiere recording. Both
texts were "assembled" by
Nono’s poet friend Massimo Cacciari.
They are given in the booklet but are
difficult to read as they are partially
hand-written transcripts, being variously
in Greek, German and Italian, and also,
mostly deliberately, inaudible.
What does it sound
like?
It is part of Nono’s
genius in these pieces to meld the electronic
sampling with the vocal effects. Indeed
it is often quite difficult to know
where one ends and the other begins.
The solo soprano is often so stratospherically
high that one wonders if her voice is
being electronically altered. The bass
flute is often playing high in its register.
It echoes the soprano sometimes so closely
that they seem to be one. Human and
electronic sound intermixed in one prolonged
cry.
How is the text set?
Pointillism, which
you may associate with the Webern, Stockhausen,
and Boulez schools of the 1950s, is
the key. Sometimes the voices are in
unison, pp on the first syllable,
then a voice will strike out say a fifth
higher, then another a major 7th
above on the second syllable, then a
cluster chord will develop ff,
on the third, leaving suddenly only
one voice exposed. This then fades and
is swallowed into its own echo and the
sound of a flutter-tonguing contrabass
clarinet. This is what happens towards
the end of the work on the word ‘Ignora’
The word itself is irrelevant but there
is a drama within each section. It is
aided by the overall expansive structuring.
For instance ‘Io’ begins with the full
group; section 2 possesses only bass
flute and clarinet. Section 3 has solo
soprano and women’s voices and section
4 is for solo soprano and bass flute.
The work continues, with these contrasting
colours, movement by movement, ending
with chorus alone.
Is there a background
story to ‘Io’. Yes, to quote the booklet
notes by Jurg Stenzl: "Nono has
understood the figure of Io from Aeschylus’s
‘Prometheus’ as a wanderer, having been
driven into exile. Without question,
when Nono spoke of Io and Prometheus
he meant himself as well". Nono’s
quoted comments, which follow, may help
the listener further. The music "…
is about choice between a balanced,
considered, yet certain existence and
a problematic, restless, even frightening
one - but with movements of joy - that
is open to all experience and knowledge".
The performance seems
incredible to me and I have to say that
it is difficult to fault it.
The singers are astonishing
in their accuracy and tuning in these
fiendishly difficult harmonies. Especially
marvellous is the coloratura soprano
Katia Plaschka. The electronics are
controlled superbly by Michael and Reinhold
Braig. The woodwind playing is extraordinary
especially in the players’ consistent
ability to play the unusual sounds Nono
requires.
The final question
is, especially with ‘Io, frammento’:
have you as a listener got the patience
to match the creative imagination of
the composer and the performer’s stamina?
When listening you
need almost to wear another pair of
ears. It’s not easy at 72 minutes. I
would recommend that after track 5 a
natural break could be formed before
the final 30 minutes. These are unique
and ground-breaking compositions which
are worth trying to come to terms with.
Gary Higginson
Katia Plaschka, high soprano; Petra Hoffmann,
soprano, Monika Blair-Ivenz, soprano; Roberto
Fabbriciani, bass flute; Ciro Scarponi, contrabass
clarinet 