Mit wechselndem Schluessel

Why an orchestral song cycle based on Celan’s poems for the Beethoven anniversary in 2002? What connects the humanistic ideas of the brilliant classical composer with the divided view of humanity presented by one of the most important poets of the 20th century? Perhaps the creation of the extraordinary in words and sound? – or the inner loneliness of great artistry?

The composition commission I received for this year’s Beethovenfest in Bonn was not tied to any specific theme. While thinking about a meaningful contribution related to Beethoven, I remembered my work Mit wechselndem Schlüssel (With Changing Key), songs based on Paul Celan for baritone and piano (from Celan’s poetry collections Mohn, Gedächtnis, and Von Schwelle zu Schwelle), written during a very progressive creative period, inspired by verses that poetically link the past and present in a cryptic way. I had been planning to orchestrate this cycle for some time—this now seemed to me the appropriate approach to fulfill my commission, as I also wanted to redesign the work formally, combining the seven individual songs under one large symphonic arc. The result was a completely new opus—a kind of solo cantata for voice and orchestra—entirely in the spirit of Beethoven, as I was inspired by compositional and instrumentation ideas and processes from Beethoven’s symphonies while working on the new version. This was the case, for example, in the development of characteristic motifs and structures: in the prologue and in the first song (Kristall), or in the creation of dramatic sequences of movements – for example in the fourth song (In Gestalt eines Ebers), in the depiction of chamber music-like lyrical moods in the fifth song (Nachts) and in titanic bursts of sound in the final song (An den langen Tischen der Zeit), and finally in the formal structure of the entire work in five symmetrically arranged, larger movements. Conclusion: a contribution to the synthesis of contemporary poetry and music in the spirit of Beethoven.
(Jürg Baur, 2002)