Composition written and dedicated to the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
For vocal ensemble, electronics and hanging sheets of various metals
A reminiscence of Bas Jan Ader
Gedanken, ungesagt, verhallen (Thoughts, unspoken, fade away)
Instead of traditional instruments, industrial metal plates stand alongside the singers at the centre of the piece.
They are equipped with an electromechanical transducer, a type of loudspeaker, and are set into vibration by the musicians via microphones. Metal plates, known as plate reverbs, were already being used in recording studios in the 1960s to create artificial reverb. Here, however, the metal plates are less refined and do not serve the sole purpose of reverberating the signal. Their sound characteristics largely determine the course of the piece, as their resonance frequencies dictate the sung material. The choice of plates is therefore crucial to the piece. Depending on their size, density and material, different versions can be created.
The course of the piece can be described in five parts. In the first part, the metal sheets are pre-probed by means of very gentle, percussive sounds. In the second part, a continuous, falling glissando explores the overtone spectra of the metals in an almost scientific manner, then in the third part it transitions into a splashing of water drop sounds, which slowly intensifies and then thins out again.
In the penultimate part, the resonance frequencies of the plates are sung by the soprano voices, causing the sung U vowels to echo and sound as if from a distance. The other voices unite with the high voices for the final part, creating a carpet of arpeggios that simultaneously controls the volume of sine waves – the only synthetic sound component of the piece – which increasingly decouple from the human voice.