Spiegelarien by Ernst Horn - rejoice!

dreamdancer

I am a Fama Tuba
Tonight, "Spiegelarien" ("mirror arias") had its premier at the Capitol theatre in Offenbach. The piece was commissioned by the "Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt" for their Classic Lounge concert series. The theme of the evening was "barock 2.0" featuring modern adaptations of barock music. Since I do not know when I will find the time to write about the whole evening, for now I start with my impressions about "Spiegelarien":

Rustling, a soft rumble and---through a gentle roar---a whisper „The people that walked in darkness have seen the unaccessible light“ turn the theatre into a place haunted by shadows. Electronics, singing voice, and orchestra blend into each other weaving a tapestry of sound. Rhythmic layers roll through the hall like waves of the ocean. Above them, a voice speaking of “peace and justice” is not quite able to overcome the cold shiver running down the spine. That is done by the sparkling interpretation of the Handel aria “Rejoice”, which shines even brighter than usually due to the strong contrast set up by Ernst. It is, however, interrupted again “The people who walk back into darkness can’t reach the unaccessible light”. The final truth is revealed by a child “Don’t search for the light---the light is in the music!” counting “one, two, three, four” to cue the conductor, Yoel Gamazou, after the electronic interlude to the amusement of the audience. The tension is released and everybody well prepared to enjoy the reprise of the Handel aria. Rejoice!
 
Thank you Dreamdancer :ymhug: :ymhug: ... as always here... :x we live for the music
the write up was beautiful and telling... I felt I was almost there... thank you my friend :ymhug: :ymhug: :ymhug:
 
Thanks for your impressions of the evening.
And I hope that you´ll find the time to write about the other music of this concert, too.
Did you see other people from the forum there?
Lys
 
Thx - I tried to get the atmosphere across, which was indeed very dense. Perhaps a bit more about the music: You hear the rustling of the gong (metallic leaves shaken by the wind would sound like this), the electronic sound waves and the rumbling timpani? The soprano, Sabine Goetz, managed to fill the entire hall with a whisper. This tells something about her capability as an opera singer given the dry and somewhat weird acoustics of the Capitol. The extended blending between sounds also helped to fill the dry void. The rythmic clicking of the bows (remember the "mirror men" adaptation for orchestra?), however, I feel is emphasized by this acoustics.

Then the singing - partly like the hymn stile in "greed freedom", partly experimental a bit as in "Mayab", part of it the enfolded seed of the Petrarca settings. Not so easy, I reckon, since the singer has to keep her line against the orchestra, sometimes dissonant, but always merging in the end to complete a phrase, a bow of tension.

Tension - I always think about Handel as a master of tension. Turn on the music and you are not able to switch it of before it ends. And that does mean something for a piece like the Messiah with a duration of two to three hours. Ernst has his own means to create and release tension, a bit more "down to earth" perhaps, but never blunt. I really would like to know how this turns out in a longer piece with more room for development.

If you do not know Handel's "Rejoice" (but also if you do ;) ), you can check out youtube to get an impression (very exuberant Nicole Heaston or more steady (and different instrumentation) Edita Gruberova). Yesterday, the Cembalo was replaced by a subtle piano played by Ernst.
 
I am going to be a demanding little cuss and insist on a released recording... or or or I might do something rash... yeah thats it... =)) =)) =)) =)) =))

just kidding but when you do have a spare moment Mr. Horn do you think its possible to get that recording out to us?? Oh btw how did the event record?? I wager dollars to doughnuts that if that recording was even a tab bit wonky... there will be no love for us.... its a peril of being an Ernst Horn fan... perfection is just not an option for him its a standard...sigh :x
 
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