The new situation of globalisation brings to mind that artistic material generally is a limited repertoire of signs. This material defines the artistic world; it encompasses an interpretation of the world rooted in the artist’s regional culture. This situation therefore requires »possibilities of approaching the Other and the Self for which there are not any patterns yet«, as Kuno Lorenz writes. The alienation of the Self and the full identification with the Other may form intermediate stages of this process. My music theatre work Chief Joseph (2001-2003) is largely based on the theme of a confrontation between Self and Other. This theme is approached from a diversity of angles: its different forms, its conflicts, its creative impulses, its disastrous consequences and the utopia of its success. The example for this confrontion used in my opera – the wars between European settlers and aboriginal Indians in North America – is especially loaded with cliché-like valuations in our collective memory. The music does not reflect the theme »Self and Other« by way of polystylicism or quotations of »exotic« material. Rather, six types of scenes are established, each of which relates to a different concept of musical time – a reflection of the author’s observation that cultural differences often can be perceived less in surface forms, but rather in the ways cultures conceive of or construct time. These scene types, moreover, show parallels with Fritz Mauthner’s attempt to categorise language as three »images of the world«: the »Leerszenen« [empty scenes] which are grounded in silence coincide with Mauthner’s type »adjectival language«, the »Klagen« [laments] which concentrate on single constellations of intervals or pitches parallel Mauthner’s »substantival language«, the instable, floating »Recitative« [recitatives] hint at Mauthner’s »verbal language«, while the other scene types (»Indian Songs« and ensemble scenes including »Councils«) in Mauthner’s system would appear as mixed forms. A key position is taken by the scene-type »Rotationen« [rotations], with one rotation occurring in each of the three acts. They form a system on their own, remaining independent of the dramatic action and try to suggest an exterritorial perspective on the theme »Self and Other«.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:86349 |
| Date | 30 June 2023 |
| Creators | Zender, Hans |
| Contributors | Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst |
| Publisher | PFAU-Verlag |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | German |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:bookPart, info:eu-repo/semantics/bookPart, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 978-3-89727-366-5, 08, urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-854158, qucosa:85415 |
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