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ERNST HELMUTH FLAMMER – ORCHESTRA WORKS VOL. 2 The shape of time, thinking about time as a phenomenological category, i.e. the content that is articulated through the shape of time in music, has always been important to me as a composer. Contemporary thinking is to be understood both structurally and in categories of history and present, tradition and aesthetic progress. Aesthetic progress is an inner necessity for me, also because it legitimizes itself historically, feeds through the sieve of reflection from tradition, derives from it and – whether consciously or unconsciously – builds on it. Aesthetic progress, symbolic in a vacuum, not historically located, not reflected in the choice and selection of its means, remains non-binding, aimless and formless, and thus does not lead to unity in diversity. In the most extreme case, its erosion - today's society is characterized by the disintegration of everything connected, the contemporary music in it by the disintegration of musical morphology into something arbitrary, by the disintegration of its structure - leads to reified set pieces, which at best drape progress as a non-binding facade, i.e. on a direct basis path to postmodernism. Form, no matter what kind on the basis of rigorous limitation and at the same time the consistent composing of aesthetic means, always develops out of a long historical tradition. It is necessary for the inner cohesion of a piece, if this is desired. And as far as the works presented on this CD are concerned, he is wanted. In my early years as a composer, an aesthetically rigorous approach – always present in very different forms for me – was initially a self-awareness in the serial area, which, however, soon gave way to other, more subject-related priorities. These were more oriented towards the artistic requirements, which resulted from the tasks of the individual projects. Rigor was also increasingly subordinated to aesthetic categories. In several cases, following the chosen tense radically, this could end in consistently minimalist structures, such as in passages from the opening and closing sections of the piano concerto Signs of time - measures of time on this CD. However, aesthetic rigorism is always due to another component of composing: Articulatory, technical and instrumental border areas are explored and consistently expanded where spaces, perspectives and visions open up. Such activity influences the making of instruments - due to the historically diminished importance of contemporary music, unfortunately far less than in other epochs - but it leads all the more to creative expansions in the area of interpretation. Dealing with the genre of the solo concerto sometimes leads to completely different results, as can easily be seen in my works of this genre. These mean a complete departure from the traditional approach of the solo concerto, as the soloist is by no means the circus virtuoso, but appears as a bearer of compositional innovation, integrated into the overall ensemble (orchestra). In several other concerts (such as the Piano Concerto Signs of time - measures of time) this appears only as an obbligato soloist, as Primus inter Pares, like he's about im First Piano Concerto by Brahms can be experienced. Signs of time - measures of time, concerto for piano and large orchestra (1985–87), is perhaps one of the most rigorous works in this genre segment, alongside that of Mathias Spahlinger. It caused astonishment and confusion in many a recipient when first hearing it on the occasion of the premiere, but also curiosity about things that had never been heard before. This has happened to many other important works. The title of the work already says a lot about the subject on which this piece is based, the question of being and time, not only in a natural-philosophical way rational senses, but also with an emphatic perspective on the humanity, on the transmigration of souls in space. Physically, our existence is empirically measurable in its corporeality, in its presence, i.e. limited in space and time. However, in childhood, the present appears as everlasting. But when we think about this actually simple fact of our limitations, which we take for granted, we suddenly become aware of what our presence in the universe is: it is hardly perceptible, we are hardly a footnote in world events. This is how we receive our destiny instead of actually shaping it. Man forgets this when he cherishes gigantic dreams in immoderate overconfidence, when he commands the life and death of his fellow men, consciously withdrawn from his existence, presumptuous, immodest. Share this topic Signs of time - measures of time with two other works of this subject, presumption in Tower of Babel, presumption in the encroaching surveillance theme underlying the other orchestral work on this disc, The human is the center of attention, as subject is titled; Arrogance that can become an existential threat to people, that is, it has an eschatological, even apocalyptic dimension that goes beyond what is critically reflected in society. In his physicality, man is an image of creation, the real, measurable time is an image of absolute time. This in turn is so complex that it eludes any measurability. These thoughts moved me when I gave the piece a very polyphonic, even polymorphic form in its internal structure, the aim of which was to convey the real sense of time, i. H. to confuse the orientation about how long the piece really lasts when listening to the music. The momentary form seems to be best for such an objective, the sequence of 21 short pieces according to certain principles, above all that of symmetry. In these moments, musical thoughts are quoted, then suddenly interrupted again, only to come back to them at another point in a completely different appearance of the same thing. They are often episodes from a dream, so to speak, that review life so far in a flash as a small excerpt from eternity. Those moments are linked by homogeneous interludes, in which not much happens dramaturgically, but very much in terms of tone color. In only two instances of the work are general pauses, composed tense silences so to speak, taken their place. These rests and a short middle section they enclose separate the main front section of the piece from the rear, both of which are proportional to each other in terms of their duration, in the golden ratio, but the rear is retrograde to the front. Anyone who sees a symbol number in the number 21 is not wrong. These proportions find their correspondence in the internal conditions. In the above sense, these real numbers stand for the image of that absolute-numerical order, on the basis of which man's ability to exist is based, on the basis of which the course of the world functions. Touching that order in the intoxication of human megalomania, let alone destroying it, is an apocalyptic strategy. The fact that certain processes of destruction, alienation and denaturation are inscribed in the course, the process of denaturing the sound makes up a formal layer, the pianist constantly switching back and forth between a conventional-sounding grand piano and another, heavily prepared grand piano on a turntable, is definitely in to be interpreted in this way. The theme of mass and individual, of central importance in this work, is compositionally deconstructed in the course of the piece. In 666600 3261 D 4901150 M 9804050 or: The focus is on people for large orchestra (1998 / 99) Polyphony drives events forward in the sense that all being is processual. The partially "neutral" anonymous musical morphology and its texture stands for the subject that man is seen only as a depersonalized number, exposed to increasingly ruthless technological surveillance methods, and currently to an increasing extent, today even more and far more subtle than before time of origin of this piece. The number appears as the decisive factor, the human being is the focus, so to speak, and thus in the way. The Tower of Babel, Suite for large orchestra (1983/84), is a revised and partly re-orchestrated summary of orchestral parts from the oratorio written almost two years earlier The Tower of Babel, which, like the other two works on this CD, has important contemporary issues related to the subject. The brass prologue, like the oratorio, is followed by five interludes, leading from one tableau to the next in the oratorio. As in the oratorio, each tableau focuses on a different aspect of the subject. The form of the six-part suite is based on that of the open rondo (AB A' C A'' D). The Parts A' and A'' are therefore variants of the prologue, interludes in the real sense. part B, With "Genesis" overwritten, is determined by a distinctly individualistic, chamber-music style of composition - each individual part unfolds melodically and articulatorally very strongly. This can be understood as a symbol of the still existing freedom and individuality of the primitive man, who still lives his life free from the yoke of a gigantic, man-made world plan. The word "natural" in the title of Part C., »The Unstoppable Rise of a ›Natural‹ Ranking«, is of course full of irony. Are hierarchies really natural and not the result of arbitrariness? The music Marschiertor consequently in one direction. Articulatory and melodic it is no longer as rich as at the beginning, more and more "conformed". Several musical layers emerge, which later stand face to face with one another, speechless and alien. Their only inner, but no longer audible relationship is the common source material. A'' is an interlude with the title, reminiscent of graveyard peace, characterized by harmonics in the strings "Recollection...necessity will end the hell of luxury...". But what is this need? – also those of concentration camps… In Part D. with the title »Confusion of Languages – Judgment Day« the orchestra sinks into raging chaos. The ear can – and this is musically intended – before the existing compositional order final bang no longer noticeable. Man, drowning in it, loses himself in his isolation. In contrast to the oratorio of the same name, the apocalyptic conclusion is no longer followed by a vision that could give an idea of what would happen afterwards in the eternity might look like, after the collective end of a collectivist world order that led to catastrophe. Ernest Helmuth Flammer program:
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