Missing Words (2014-2021)

For Fifteen players (divided into six subsets): 1011/1220/1perc/piano/11111

Missing Words (2014-2021) series:
Missing Words I for clarinet, bassoon, horn, string quartet, double bass
Missing Words II for brass quintet
Missing Words III for violoncello and piano
Missing Words IV for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, violoncello
Missing Words V for violin, violoncello, piano
Missing Words VI for flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, violoncello

Total duration: c. 85 minutes

CD Recording

Composer’s Note

Missing Words (2014-2021) is inspired by German words invented by writer Ben Schott in his book Schottenfreude: German Words for the Human Condition (Blue Rider Press/Penguin Group). These words illuminate experiences of everyday contemporary life for which English has no synonyms. The words are therefore “missing” from English, and Schott has proposed new German words that English speakers can adopt, in the vein of Doppelgänger, Schadenfreude and Wanderlust. I love the wit, humor, pathos and intimacy of Schott’s words, and use the concepts they evoke as points of departure for the music.

The series as a whole speaks to the complexity of life and human experience, and how all the little bits of the everyday present can help us find deeper meaning in our own. The music speaks to intimate yet shared experiences that range from the tragic and beautiful to the comic and commonplace. Missing Words is comprised of six sections that are each scored for different ensemble types, and are comprised of shorter movements that each reflect on a different German word and their conceptual associations.

The movement titles of Missing Words, and their translations and definitions, quote text from Schottenfreude by Ben Schott. Copyright © 2013 by Ben Schott. Used by permission of the author. All rights reserved.

- Eric Nathan

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THE TEXTS

The movement titles of Missing Words, and their translations and definitions, quote text from Schottenfreude by Ben Schott. Copyright © 2013 by Ben Schott. Used by permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Missing Words I
I. Eisenbahnscheinbewegung (Railway-Illusion-Motion)
“The false sensation of movement when, looking out from a stationary train, you see another train depart.”

II. Herbstlaubtrittvergnügen (Autumn-Foliage-Strike-Fun)
“Kicking through piles of autumn leaves.”

III. Fingerspitzentanz  (Fingertips-Dance)
“Tiny triumphs of nimble-fingered dexterity.”

Missing Words II
I. Leertretung (Void-Stepping)
“Stepping down heavily on a stair that isn’t there.”

II. Kraftfahrzeugsinnenausstattungsneugeruchsgenuss (Automobile-Interior-Furnishing-Aroma-Pleasure)
“New car smell.”

III. Brillenbrillanz (Spectacles-Luminosity)
“The sudden, innervating clarity afforded by new glasses.”

Missing Words III
I. Rollschleppe (Escalator-Schlep)

“The exhausting trudge up a stationary escalator.”

II. Mundphantom (Mouth-Phantom)
“Feeling that the thermometer is still under your tongue after it’s been removed.”

III. Straußmanöver (Ostrich-Maneuver)
“The short-term defense strategy of simply denying reality.”

IV. Schubladenbrief ((Desk-)Drawer-Letter)
“The letter you write, but never send.”

Missing Words IV
I. Erkenntnisspaziergang (Cognition-Stroll)
“A perambulation taken with the specific intention of contemplation.”

II. Dreiecksumgleichung (Triangle-Reorganization)
“When two friends you’ve introduced form a new friendship that excludes you.”

III. Tageslichtspielschock (Daylight-Show-Shock)
“Being startled when exiting a movie theater into broad daylight.”

Missing Words V
I. Ludwigssyndrom (Ludwig’s-Syndrome)
“Discovering an indecipherable note in your own handwriting.”

II. Kissenkühlelabsal (Pillow-Chill-Refreshment)
“The ineffable pleasure, and instant relief, of a cool pillow.”

III. Watzmannwahn (Watzmann-Delusion)
“The impulse to take impetuous risks when tantalizingly close to your goal.”

Missing Words VI
I. Witzbeharrsamkeit (Joke-Insistence) I
“Unashamedly repeating a bon mot until it is properly heard by everyone present.”

II. Betttrug (Bed-Deception)
“The fleeting sense of disorientation on waking in a strange bed.”

III. Witzbeharrsamkeit (Joke-Insistence) II
“Unashamedly repeating a bon mot until it is properly heard by everyone present.”

IV. Dielennystagmus (Hallway-Nystagmus)
“Repeatedly catching and avoiding people’s gazes when, say, approaching them down a long corridor.”

V. Witzbeharrsamkeit (Joke-Insistence) III
“Unashamedly repeating a bon mot until it is properly heard by everyone present.”

VI. Erebusterror (Erebus-Terror)
“Dread at the first indications of a fatal disease.”

VII. Rolleirückblende (Rollei-Flashback)
“The flood of memory released when looking at old photos.”