Hermann Nitsch - Sonnengesang (1991)

Meet Hermann Nitsch (°1938), Austrian composer and performance artist, associated with the Vienna Actionists (this link may be shocking to some). Pushing the definition of art to an extreme from the sixties onward, he came to my attention through a friend of mine who's now working on his dissertation 'Voyeurism: violence and pornography', having gathered about 4,000 pictures - freak. Anyway, it's now as good as impossible to find even the smallest bit of Nitsch's music, but I always treasured his Sonnengesang. Too bad I've only got side B and it's in 128kbps again.

Only 15min long, this is nevertheless NOT an easy listen, but it does stand out as one of the most intense classically oriented pieces I've ever heard. The music perfectly simulates the cumulative effect of 15min of intense sunlight on your bare skin. Beginning rather simply with a few repetitive wind instruments, every couple of seconds a new instrument is added, following its own monotonous rhythm. After a few minutes, you will notice that the trickle of sound has transformed into a huge wall, a storm of sound particles, the sun itself. A sensory experience, indeed.

By the way, the title of the piece is taken from Fransiscus of Assisi's Song of the Sun (1225):

O Lord, we praise Thee for our Brother Sun,
Who brings us day, who brings us golden light.
He tells us of Thy Beauty, Holy One.
We praise Thee, too, when falls the quiet night,
For Sister Moon, and every silver star
That Thou hast set in Heaven, clear and far.
"For our brave Brother Wind we give Thee praise;
For clouds and stormy skies, for gentle air;
And for our Sister Water, cool and fair,
Who does service in sweet, humble ways;
But, when the winter darkens, bitter cold,
We praise Thee every night and all day long
"For our good friend, so merry and so bold,
Dear Brother Fire, beautiful and strong.
For our good Mother Earth, we praise Thee, Lord;
For the bright flowers she scatters everywhere;
For all the fruit and grain her fields afford;
For her great beauty, and her tireless care.

Nitsch_Sonnengesang_128.rar

posted by Paxjorge @ Monday, March 06, 2006