Composer

:

György Kurtág

Genre

:

Choral

Compose Date

:

1990-1991

Average_duration

:

16:48

György Kurtág's "Samuel Beckett: What Is the Word, Op. 30b" is a vocal work for baritone and chamber ensemble. The piece was composed in 1990 and premiered in 1991 at the Salzburg Festival. It is based on a text by Samuel Beckett, which explores the limits of language and communication. The work is divided into three movements, each of which is characterized by a different musical style and mood. The first movement, "What Is the Word," is a setting of Beckett's text in which the baritone sings a series of fragmented phrases that gradually coalesce into a single, haunting melody. The music is spare and austere, with the ensemble providing a backdrop of sustained chords and delicate textures. The second movement, "Words and Music," is a more complex and fragmented setting of Beckett's text. The baritone is joined by a soprano and a small ensemble of instruments, including piano, violin, and cello. The music is highly dissonant and fragmented, with the singers and instruments often overlapping and interrupting each other. The final movement, "Neither," is a setting of Beckett's text that explores the idea of negation and absence. The baritone sings a series of phrases that are gradually stripped of their meaning and reduced to a series of meaningless syllables. The music is spare and ethereal, with the ensemble providing a delicate and shimmering backdrop. Throughout the work, Kurtág's music is characterized by its spareness, fragmentation, and dissonance. The vocal lines are often highly fragmented and disjointed, with the singers struggling to communicate in a world where language has lost its meaning. The ensemble provides a delicate and atmospheric backdrop, with sustained chords and delicate textures that evoke a sense of emptiness and absence. Overall, "Samuel Beckett: What Is the Word, Op. 30b" is a haunting and powerful work that explores the limits of language and communication. Kurtág's music is spare and austere, with a sense of fragility and vulnerability that perfectly captures the existential themes of Beckett's text.

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