Klang, Magie, Struktur. Ästhetische und strukturelle Dimensionen in der Musik Helmut Lachenmanns

Abstract

During this 5-hour-discussion, Helmut Lachenmann explains the foundations of his music in great, unprecedented detail. The discussion consists of three sections, focussing on Lachenmann’s compositional aesthetics, the relationship between constructivity and freedom in his music, and a detailed discussion with the audience respectively. In the beginning, Lachenmann responds to Clemens Gadenstätter’s and Dieter Kleinrath’s analytical approaches to his second string quartet (see Kleinrath, Fraktalklang in this volume) arguing that a »chemical« analysis should always reference social preconditions and modes of listening instigated by the musical structure. Although music does not only have a structure, but is a structure, Lachenmann doubts that is possible to listen to music merely structurally; his music rather aims at a »liberated perception« which he labels the »last great humanity related utopia«. Elaborating on his often cited idea that a (»structure«-)sound may become identical with large-scale form, Lachenmann explains his concepts of (sound) »families« that are triggered by means of an »arpeggio«. A sound family might assemble highly diverse timbres by relating them to the same harmonic entity or the same basic playing technique – a principle that Lachenmann has derived from the analysis of European music. Introducing examples by Anton Webern and Gustav Mahler, Lachenmann shows how unconventional timbral organisation in their works sheds a completely new light on conventional structural topoi. The composer then explains his theory of listening which distinguishes between Hören (hearing) and Zuhören (listening). Familiar sound structures in music or everyday life usually do not challenge listening habits and thereby immerse the listener in a magical sphere. This mode of listening is especially obvious in functional music such as the German national anthem. The European concept of art, however, is crucially based on the idea of breaching, of intervening into these magical modes of listening, eventually resulting in a unique stylistic development over the centuries. In the second part, Lachenmann explains the multiple ways in which he confronts post-serial structures as represented by the (»structure-« or »time-«)»net« during the beginning of a compositional process. In most of his works, this net is the result of a highly complex structural arrangement of twelve-tone rows, yet it usually merely serves as a kind of »memory« and might be ignored or torn down at specific moments during the compositional work. The function of this net, ultimately, is to push the composer into new situations that he would not have confronted otherwise. In this context, Lachenmann defends the historical works of post-war serialism such as Boulez’ Structures Ia, arguing that »freedom« in that specific historical situation also meant to liberate oneself from a stereotyped fantasy by means of the »diving suit« of serial structure. After arguing that much of his music is based on the implicit double character of »process« (Prozess) and »condition« (Zustand), rather than separating these categories too rigidly, Lachenmann explains the ways in which he transforms »consonant« chords and sounds from tonal music. This practice in fact dates back to works of the early 1960s when he assembled a repertoire of interval collections such as constant sets (e.g. 2-2-2… semitones), continuously increasing/decreasing sets (e.g. 1-2-3-4…), cyclic sets (e.g. 2-3-2-3…) and harmonic as well as non-harmonic overtone sets. The playful, but not ironic integration of these collections into Lachenmann’s music is exemplified by a large section from Ausklang (1984/85) where a »fortissimo« C major tutti forms the final point of a transformation from toneless to resonant sounds. During the discussion with the audience, Lachenmann describes his compositional methods as making a »necessity out of the arbitrary« or forming »consistency out of contingency« – the serialist structural data assembled in the beginning of the compositional process provoke resistance, creative energy, and eventually become conscious as part of a personal musical vision. Similarly, a large-scale formal plan, although usually set out in the beginning, might be extended or revoked at any time in order to »let the idea of the piece discover itself«. Finally, discussing the current knowledge of extended playing techniques among professional musicians, Lachenmann argues against the tendency of becoming obsessed with alienated sounds as a »stylistic prison« and describes composition as a broadening of the mind.

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