Ein Brief (Mauricio Kagel)
(A Letter)
The idea of writing a work that would embody the long-desired postulate “prima la musica, dopo le parole!”, has kept getting back to me in all sorts of convoluted ways. I used to think that to a composer, text is essentially an excuse for reaching for musical meaning. There likely are many ways of addressing this arguable and ever inspiring issue of the relationship between music and text. Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, by entirely doing without a vocalist, are an extreme solution to the problem. These singing piano works are, in a way, a genial solution, but they don’t really solve the big issue. Mendelssohn’s cycle has probably resonated with its contemporaries in the same way as it would today if we talked about words without songs. Mendelssohn’s choice of title in the 19th century was likely an inspiring, provocative challenge.
If I mentioned convoluted routes towards a clear-cut model at the beginning, I also had in mind this current work of mine. Its original idea was to translate an original, existing letter into purely musical language. From the beginning it was clear that it was a love letter. Looking for the right material, I started with the premise that the work shall not be connected with the letter ’s words, but rather will become a musical translation of human impressions and emotions, recreating the letter ’s message with the use of non-verbal means.
I decided to stick to my original idea and at the same time, introduce a radical change: the letter would be composed of two words only: “My Darling”. In this way, I robbed it of a clear message, leaving only the musical affects that the implicit text generates. It also eliminates the need of explaining whether it is a farewell letter or perhaps an informative one. If words can resonate with music, how does music resonate without words?
Mauricio Kagel
