Missing Words V (2018)
for Piano Trio (Violin, Cello, and Piano)
Commissioned by Coretet an associate of Yarlung Artists, for the Neave Piano Trio
This piece was completed with generous underwriting from: Sherrilyn January & Eric Johnson, Donna Morton, Jess Morton, Jim and Robin Paterson, David Quadhamer, Elizabeth & Justus Schlichting, Grace Solomonoff, Irene Steinman, Frances Spivey Weber & Michael Weber, Red Winter
Listen
I. Ludwigssyndrom (Ludwig’s-Syndrome)
“Discovering an indecipherable note in your own handwriting.” (from Schott, Schottenfreude)
II. Kissenkühlelabsal (Pillow-Chill-Refreshment)
“The ineffable pleasure, and instant relief, of a cool pillow.” (from Schott, Schottenfreude)
III. Watzmannwahn (Watzmann-Delusion)
“The impulse to take impetuous risks when tantalizingly close to your goal.” (from Schott, Schottenfreude)
Recorded by Neave Trio (on Missing Words, New Focus Recordings)
Duration: 13 minutes
Program Note:
“Missing Words V” (2018) is the fifth in an ongoing series of compositions composed in homage to Ben Schott’s book, Schottenfreude (Blue Rider Press/Penguin Group), a collection of newly created German words for the contemporary world. The German language has the capability to create new words through the combination of shorter ones and can express complex concepts in a single word for which there is no direct translation in other languages. Such words include Schadenfreude, Doppelgänger and Wanderlust, and these have been adopted into use in English. With his book, Ben Schott proposes new words missing from the English language that we can choose to adopt into our own vocabulary.
In my work, I take three of Schott’s words, and their various conceptual associations, as points of creative departure. The first movement responds to the word, “Ludwigssyndrom,” which Schott directly translates as “Ludwig’s-Syndrome,” and likens to finding something written in one’s own hand that is impossible to decipher. The use of “Ludwig” is undoubtedly a nod to Ludwig van Beethoven and his notoriously messy manuscripts. I looked at the facsimile of the first draft of Beethoven’s ninth symphony and reinterpreted a few selected pages from the first and third movements as if they were sketches for my own piece, reinterpreting and incorporating the wild character of Beethoven’s handwriting and all of his scribbles, cross-outs, and misaligned gestures.
The second movement responds to the word, “Kissenkühlelabsal,” which Schott translates as “Pillow-Chill-Refreshment.” This word refers to the liberating and immediate sense of release experienced by laying one’s head on a pillow. This movement was partially inspired by my visit to Old Delhi, India, and the relaxation I felt laying down to rest after a long day out in the city. I was particularly inspired by the beautifully cacophonous textures of car horns from the rickshaws and cars in the crowded streets, and have evoked a sense of these at the opening of the movement.
The final movement reflects on the word, “Watzmannwahn,” which refers to the perilous peaks of the Watzmann mountain in the Bavarian Alps, and the wildly rash risks climbers take when they are close to reaching the summit. My thoughts ventured to the musical tradition of a concerto cadenza, a moment that typically happens close to the end of the long musical journey between soloist and orchestra.
“Missing Words V” was commissioned by Coretet, an associate of Yarlung Artists, for the Neave Trio. 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