Bernhard Lang

Christine Dysers

Description

Bernhard Lang: Critical Guides to Contemporary Composers offers a critical guide and introduction to the work of Austrian composer Bernhard Lang (b. 1957). It identifies the phenomenon of repetition as a central concern in Lang’s thinking and making. The composer’s artistic practice is identified as one of ‘loop aesthetics’: a creative poetics in which repetition serves not only as methodology, but also as material, language, and subject matter.



The book is structured around the four central thematic nodes of philosophy, music, theatre, and politics. After introducing Lang as a composer whose work is thoroughly influenced by philosophical thought, the book develops a typology of musical repetition as it is explored and activated in Lang’s oeuvre.



Pointing towards the several repetitions within the performance of Lang’s works, the book explores the heavily trans-medial nature of the repeat across domains such as literature, dance, and theatre. Finally, the book investigates Lang’s use of textual quotation and musical borrowing.



Christine Dysers is a musicologist specialising in contemporary music aesthetics. Her research centres around repetition, politics, absence, the liminal, and the uncanny. This is the first full-length study of the works of Bernhard Lang and is a new volume in the Critical Guides to Contemporary Composers series from Intellect.

List of Figures vii

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction xiii

1. Philosophies of Repetition 1

      Discovering Deleuze 4

      Circular thinking 12

      Seriality and the rhizomatic oeuvre 26

2. Different Repetitions 32

      The same, again 34

      The paradox of repetition 42

      The same, but different 50

      Calculating the unforeseen 62

3. Acts of Repetition 70

      Stories about repetition 73

      Repetitive stories 75

      Repetitive gestures 78

      Repetitive scenographies 87

4. Politics of Repetition 99

      It’s all about history 109

      Take the power back 119

      The analytic faculty 124

      The limits of the intertext 133

Epilogue 137

Notes 143

References 150

Index 163

Sujets

• Musique
• Histoire de la musique
• Musique
• Individual Composer
• PHILOSOPHY
• MUSIC
• Multiple signal classification
• General officer
• Musician
• General
• Gilles Deleuze

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 14 mars 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781789387650
• Langue: English

Extrait

Bernhard Lang
Critical Guides to Contemporary Composers
Series Editor: Martin Iddon
Intellect's Critical Guides to Contemporary Composers are accessible but rigorous introductions to key figures in the world of contemporary music. Neither simply biographies, nor exclusively analytical discussions, the focus is on critical issues highlighted by historical and biographical context and the musical content of the work. Particularly, the series seeks to engage with composers whose place within contemporary musical cultures is prominent and secure, but who have been overlooked within the Anglo-American sphere. Designed for scholars and students alike, this series presents insights into vital figures in contemporary music, previously unavailable within English-language musicology
Titles in series:
Lois Fitch, Brian Ferneyhough (2014) Neil T. Smith, Mathias Spahlinger (2021) Christine Dysers, Bernhard Lang (2023)
Bernhard Lang
Critical Guides to Contemporary Composers

Christine Dysers
First published in the UK in 2023 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2023 by Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright 2023 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copy editor: MPS Limited
Cover designer: Aleksandra Szumlas
Cover image: Reproduced by permission of Hal Leonard Europe BV (Italy) (score) and Bernhard Lang (portrait)
Production manager: Sophia Munyengeterwa
Typesetter: MPS Limited
Part of the Critical Guides to Contemporary Composers series
ISSN 2043-9288 | Online ISSN 2043-9296
Hardback ISBN 978-1-78938-763-6
ePDF ISBN 978-1-78938-764-3
ePUB ISBN 978-1-78938-765-0
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This is a peer-reviewed publication.
Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Philosophies of Repetition
Discovering Deleuze
Circular thinking
Seriality and the rhizomatic oeuvre
2. Different Repetitions
The same, again
The paradox of repetition
The same, but different
Calculating the unforeseen
3. Acts of Repetition
Stories about repetition
Repetitive stories
Repetitive gestures
Repetitive scenographies
4. Politics of Repetition
It's all about history
Take the power back
The analytic faculty
The limits of the intertext
Epilogue
Notes
References
Index
Figures
1.1 Opening page to Differenz/Wiederholung 1 (1998). 1.2 Discontinuous series of repeating parts in Differenz/Wiederholung 3 (2000), bars 22–25. 1.3 Moment of standstill in Differenz/Wiederholung 2 (1999), opening of ‘IV: Image/Idea’. 1.4 Hyper-symmetry in Differenz/Wiederholung 2 (1999). 1.5 Architectural planning sketch for Das Theater der Wiederholungen (2000–02), showing a triptych-like structure and thematic repetition. 1.6 Stylized representation of the compositional process behind the Monadologie series. 2.1 Prolonged passage of exact repetition in Differenz/Wiederholung 2 (1999), ‘I: Dead Repetition’, bars 92a–j. 2.2 Excerpt from the accompanying notes to the score for Differenz/Wiederholung 2 (1999). 2.3 Differenz/Wiederholung 25: …more Loops for U . (2014), bars 142–47. 2.4 Monadologie XXXVI: Chopin 12 Études (2020), ‘Étude I’, bars 1–10. 2.5 Difference in expressive timing in the performance of the opening theme from Mozart's Piano Sonata in A major (K. 331) on its first statement and its later repetition (indicated by solid and dotted lines) by two different pianists: pianist A and pianist B. 2.6 Hermetica V: Fremde Sprachen (2011–12), bars 346–57. 2.7 Repetition as similarity in Differenz/Wiederholung 2 , ‘I: Dead Repetition’ (1999), bars 68a–g. 2.8 Range of variation in Differenz/Wiederholung 2 , ‘I: Dead Repetition’ (1999), bars 68a–g. 2.9 Range of variation compared to distribution (range/distribution) in Differenz/Wiederholung 2 , ‘I: Dead Repetition’ (1999), bars 68a–g. 2.10 Temporal microvariations in Peter Ablinger's Anfangen (: Aufhören) (1991). 2.11 Stylized representation of the process of drift at work in the Monadologie series. 2.12 Visual representation of a one-dimensional cellular automaton abiding to Stephen Wolfram's ‘rule 254’. 2.13 Visual representation of a one-dimensional cellular automaton abiding to Stephen Wolfram's ‘rule 30’. 2.14 John Conway's ‘game of life’ as a compositional tool: initial state and first iteration. 2.15 Monadologie IV: Robotica 1 (2008), bars 1–8. 3.1 Der Golem (2014–16), ‘Kapitel I: Schlaf’, bars 59–62 (piano reduction). 3.2 Doubling of the director in Xavier Le Roy's 2002 staging of Das Theater der Wiederholungen (2000–02). 3.3 Music and dance notation in Monadologie XVIII: Moving Architecture (2011–12), ‘Tier XV’. 3.4 Silent dance choreography in Monadologie XVIII: Moving Architecture (2011–12), ‘Tier III’. 3.5 Game 2-4-5: The Mirror Stage (2020): ‘Section I: Introitus’. 3.6 Game 2-4-5: The Mirror Stage (2020): ‘Section VIII: Exodus’. 3.7 Schematic representation of the asymmetrical mirror-structure in Game 2-4-5: The Mirror Stage (2020). 3.8 Lucas Van Haesbroeck's stage design for Game 2-4-5: The Mirror Stage (2020). 3.9 Game 2-4-5: The Mirror Stage (2020), shown here as performed by HYOID (vocals), Kobe Van Cauwenberghe (electric guitar), Lucas Van Haesbroeck (scenography/light design) and IRCAM (Robin Meier and Sylvain Cadars, ambisonics) at De Bijloke (Ghent, Belgium) on 3 December 2021. 4.1 Cheap Opera #2: ‘Playing Trump’ (2021), Scene 10: ‘Fake News, Very Sad’: outtake from the libretto by Dieter Sperl. 4.2 Cheap Opera #1: ‘Répétitions’ (2019), Scene 1, bars 89–97. 4.3 Cheap Opera #1: ‘Répétitions’ (2019), Scene 2, bars 155–79. 4.4 Der Hetzer (2019–20), Act 2, Scene 2: ‘The Black Testament I’, bars 58–60. 4.5 Der Hetzer (2019–20), Act 4, Scene 3B: ‘The Black Testament II’, bars 223–27. 4.6 I Hate Mozart (2006), Act I, Scene 7: ‘Albtraum 2’, bars 117–26 (piano reduction). 4.7 Piano reduction of Haydn's opening bar (left), compared to the generative cell for Monadologie IX: The Anatomy of Disaster , ‘I: Introduzione’, bars 1–35 (right). 4.8 Monadologie IX: The Anatomy of Disaster (2010), ‘I: Introduzione’, bars 1–12. 4.9 Stylized representation of Lang's procedure of granular analysis. 4.10 Granular analysis in I Hate Mozart (2006), Act I, Scene 3B: ‘Ach ich’, bars 7–18 (vocal reduction). 4.11 Opening to Monadologie XXIII: …for Stanley K. (2013).
Acknowledgements
The research presented in this book stems from and builds upon my Ph.D. project, which I undertook at the City, University of London Music Department between the late summer of 2015 and the early days of 2020. I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Newton Armstrong, for years of selfless guidance, generous support and persistent encouragement. Newton taught me to challenge easy assumptions, to push boundaries and to speak thoughtfully yet confidently, both within academia and beyond. His mentorship and intellectual generosity have been pivotal in this project from its very genesis and I am thankful for his friendship.
Pursuing my Ph.D. project was made possible thanks to a generous studentship from the university's School of Arts and Social Sciences (SASS), for which I am forever grateful. During my time at City, University of London, I found myself surrounded by a faculty that fostered an environment of openness and thoughtful critique which informed much of the development of this research project. For that, I am appreciative. I am particularly grateful to Miguel Mera, Laudan Nooshin and Stephen Cottrell, who supported me through the various ebbs and flows of postgraduate life and who encouraged me to dream big. For the feedback, insights, experiences and opportunities they shared, I am also thankful to Adam Harper, Tullis Rennie, Aaron Einbond and Claudia Molitor.
A major thank you goes out to Martin Iddon, who helped me to seamlessly transform this project from a Ph.D. dissertation into a published monograph. Martin's editorial skills, critical insights and expertise in European modernism, Cageian aesthetics and popular music have been a true blessing throughout. I am also very grateful to Matthew Shlomowitz and Christopher Fox for their generous feedback during the peer review process. In writing this book, I was lucky to work closely with Lasse Müller at Ricordi Berlin, and Tim Mitchell and Sophia Munyengeterwa at Intellect. I am thankful to them for their patience and attention to detail.
This work benefited greatly from the encouragement of friends and colleagues. A far-from-complete list of people who shared their time and insights along the route would include Sam Mackay, William Davy Cole, Soosan Lolavar, Gabrielle Messeder, Matthew Shlomowitz, Juliet Fraser, Jan Dewilde, Maarten Beirens, Pieter Matthynssens, Maarten Quanten, Mark Delaere, Rebecca Diependaele and many others. Stefan Prins, who first introduced me to Lang's music way back in 2012, deserves a special mention. A particularly big thank you goes out to Günther D'Haene, Gilberto dos Santos Agostinho Filho and Andrew Simmons for sharing their thoughts, friendships and coffees with me.
I am immensely grateful to my parents, Jacques Dysers and Marie-Christine Minten, for a lifetime of love and support. Words fail to express the gratitude that I have for my husband, Sebastian Mortelmans, for his unconditional love, his boundless optimism, his gentle patience and his eager spirit for adventure. I am thankful to have you by my side. With you, anything is possible.
Finally, I am thankful to Bernhard Lang for