Die Sternklare ( The Starry Woman )

Transcription

1 Joseh Klein Die Sternklare ( The Starry Woman ) character study after Elias Canetti for solo ercussionist (006) for Christoher Deane duration : c. 6 '

2 Performance Notes, distinct break in sound senza misura dead stick (secco) Durational continuum within senza misura section: values arranged from shortest to longest (recise durations ad libitum) Accidentals aly only to the notes they immediately recede, with the excetion of reeated itches. In mm. 516 and 15, the Thai gongs and vibrahone should blend as if one instrument, though the former must maintain rhythmic regularity while the latter should flow in a freer and seemingly random manner. The change in intensity in the vibrahone art throughout these sections should be ersistent but almost imercetible. In m. 1 and m. 0, the events should seem to emanate from one another, as if a single gesture. Durations in the "" sections (mm., 17, 6, 1, 0, and 5) are aroximate, and should allow adequate time for the erformer to make any necessary mallet changes. Striking imlements : soft yarn mallets (), hard lastic mallets (), bass bow, metal rod (triangle beater). Suggested Instrument Setu tamtams crotales Thai gongs crotales cymbals glass chimes vibrahone stick tray i

3 Program Note Die Sternklare (The Starry Woman) is the ninth in a series of short works for solo instrument based uon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge: ünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: ifty Characters), written in 197 by the Bulgarianborn BritishAustrian novelist Elias Canetti ( ). Canetti s distinctive studies incororate oetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordlay to create fifty ironic aradigms of human behavior. This collection of works, begun in 1997, was insired by the vividly surreal deictions of Canetti s characters and includes works for contrabass, violin, bass flute, ocarina, contrabassoon, glass harmonica, trumet, ercussion, bass saxohone, iccolo, organ, basset horn, and violoncello, among others. In Canetti's deiction of this character, The Starry Woman "shuns the crude light of the sun. [She] sighs in relief when the sun is gone and she wishes it would never come again... Her skin is as ure as the light of the sun. But she does not realize this in herself. Her only mirror is the illuminated night, and this mirror consists of so many dots that it has no unity." Die Sternklare was comleted in June of 006 for ercussionist Christoher Deane, who first erformed the work at the University of North Texas on ebruary 0, 007. ii

4 Die Sternklare (The Starry Woman) The starry woman shuns the crude light of the sun. It is indiscreet, it is tactless, it is ainfully bright ; there is a great deal within, waiting for its moment, but it is ruthlessly yanked forth, sread out, lit u, and heated, until it is no longer to be recognized, just where was it really in him, in her, in all? The starry woman sticks to crystals, which cannot be oened. Even the transarent ones among them are certain of their hardness ; and if you like to see a thing, you should not have it. The starry woman desires closure, on which weak and tested light falls. It may have found its way to her from the stars, but it knew nothing about her before finding her, and she listened in her reclusion for a long time until it came, and was herself uncertain and dark. She has eered through a telescoe only once in her life. How ashamed she was! She felt as if she were brazenly hurtling towards a star and forcing it to shine brighter than it cared to. She did not forget how lonesome it suddenly was, searated from the others, which gave it its stillness and equilibrium. She had lucked it out from all the heavens ; her eye, ordinarily slow and quiet, glared at it, the way the sun glared at her in the daytime, she was afraid the star was destroyed now and lost from the sky. She tore herself away, she cursed the instrument, she did enance in her own way for weeks by making her eyes evade that cursèd star. Then, when she dared to seek it again and found it, she was so hay that she urchased the telescoe of her shame, smashed it, and scattered the arts and slinters in the night. The starry woman sighs in relief when the sun is gone and she wishes it would never come again. She sends her days in dark laces. She works only to make the days go by. Her skin is as ure as the light of the sun. But she does not realize this in herself. Her only mirror is the illuminated night, and this mirror consists of so many dots that it has no unity. Where can it start? Where can it sto? Can it be so clear without having seen itself? The starry woman has thoughts, she kees them to herself, she is afraid of losing them uon uttering them. But they do not freeze within her, they wax and wane, and when they have become so small again as to vanish from her, they awake in others. Elias Canetti, Der Ohrenzeuge : ünfzig Charaktere (translated by Joachim Neugroschel) English translation 1979 by The Seabury Press, Inc. text used by ermission of Carl Hauser Verlag, München. iii

5 Brazen q s = CROTALES VIBRAPHONE w/hard lastic () b ÿ ÿ ÿ b ÿ b ÿ f ÿ Die Sternklare character study after Elias Canetti for solo ercussion c. 8" b U w/bow Joseh Klein ( 006 ) Ethereal h = 0 motor ON (moderately slow) w/soft yarn () b b THAI GONG Psemre (semre l.v.) 5 motor O b oco cresc. (quasi imercettibile) 6 b b b b b b (oco cresc.) 9 b b b n (P) (oco cresc.) 006 by Joseh Klein. All rights reserved. 1

6 # # # (oco cresc.) c. 10" ~~~~~~ P ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ GLASS CHIMES ~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ # # U # # CROTALES w/hard lastic () # # # # Brazen q s = 180 # # 16 7, b b f. b, 16 7 b ww b b b b b [ (in temo)] w Ethereal h = 0 CYMBALS TAMTAMS motor ON (moderately slow) w/soft yarn () b c. 1" b b b # #,. f # w/bow b #,. #,. Ó

7 0 Ó # b Brazen q s = 180 ( q = 90) 5 8 0b c. 10" ~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ GLASS CHIMES P ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ w/bow motor O 8 5 w/hard lastic () ~ ~ f b b ÿ ÿ ~~~~~ b b ÿ ÿ w/bow ÿ b ÿ n # # # ÿ b ÿ b P b b n b b n b b b b b. b.. b. S # #. S CYMBALS w/metal rod on crown oco b CROTALES. b. b n. S b # U b b.. S n b U b ÿ b ÿ b b ÿ c. 15" b ÿ ÿ ÿ # # b # TAMTAM w/bow n b Ethereal h = 0 THAI GONG w/soft yarn () P semre ÿ b ÿ b b b b P GLASS CHIMES (semre l.v.) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 8 5

8 7 b b b oco dim. (quasi imercettibile) b b b 50 (oco dim.) b b b b (P ) 5 b 5 55 (oco dim.) b c. 5" c. 7" b b w/hard lastic () b c. 1" b b ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ GLASS CHIMES (noticeably slower and gentler rustling than before) lunga oss. ~~~~~~~~~ 0//18 ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~