Finally, the 5th order applies to the superimposition, annotation, nesting of individual pieces (in ‘DUNKLES HAUS,’ summary of several scenes in ‘phases’). Here, connections are composed – simultaneous scenes are subjected to a linking process that moves between the extremes of sharply-carved juxtaposition
and complete fusion. This may again become material for a sixth order, in which several pieces sound simultaneously, a seventh (several programs) and beyond, via social polyphony to the last: entropy, white noise. (Robert HP Platz)
Sánchez-Verdú, José M. (*1968) ARGO (2017/18)
Dramma in Musica Duration Libretto Place and time WP Characters Choir Orchestra
80′ Gerhard Falkner, from a model by Pascal Quignard Mythological, Greek antiquity Schwetzingen, 2018 BUTES (bass-baritone) – ORPHEUS (countertenor) – ODYSSEUS (baritone) – JASON (Bass-[baritone]) – APHRODITE/MEDEA (soprano) ARGONAUTS 12-15 T/B – SIRENS 4S3Mez/A 2(2picc).2(cor ang).2(bclar.dbclar).2(dble bsn) – 2.2.2.dbtuba – timp.perc(2) – org – str: 6.4.4.3.2 – live-electronics
“The book ‘Butès’ by Pascal Quignard gave me the impetus for a renewed examination of this topic. Butes’s encounter with the sirens is an image for the search for the unknown, Butes’s leap into the water is considered a symbolic and poetic gesture that opens up to various interpretations. This leap in search of the monstrous sound of the sirens is a symbol of an inner decision, an adventure in the direction of the new (comparable to the creative process in art). This is the theme of ‘ARGO’ in all its symbolic and iconographic dimensions. The fact that Butes, of whom we know little (as in, for example, Apollonius of Rhodes), and Orpheus as Argonauts together on the same ship Argo were on their way in search of the Golden Fleece,
Atlas (2012/13)
(Islas de utopía | Islands of Utopia)
appears as an incredible coincidence and opened the possibility of these important mythological figures confronting each other. Butes against Orpheus; or Butes as anti-Orpheus. As a projection of the future, the figure of Odysseus, who a generation later on the journey to Ithaca also encountered the sirens and sought another confrontation with them, but also in the direction of Orpheus. The singing of the sirens is with Quignard, and according to early mythological descriptions, speaking more of monstrous bestial sounds, still not music. This primordial sound of the sirens is supposed to be represented in its pre-linguistic dimension in the musical materials of ARGO.” (José M. Sánchez-Verdú)
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One-act Plays, Fragments, Short Theatrical Works
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