Sounds Like You Bent Sørensen

Bent Sørensen Marie Louise Wille, Mads Wille, Lore Lixenberg, Signe Asmussen Peter Asmussen Danish National Symphony Orchestra Danish National Vocal Ensemble Sounds Like You Thomas Dausgaard

Danish National Vocal Ensemble Danish National Symphony Orchestra Thomas Dausgaard Sounds Like You | Intermezzi Intermezzi from “Under himlen” (Under the Sky) (2003) for two mezzo-sopranos and orchestra ��27:16 Music by Bent Sørensen to texts by Peter Asmussen I �� 7:47 II �� 4:11 Marie Louise Wille, actor III �� 7:10 Mads Wille, actor IV �� 1:48 Lore Lixenberg, mezzo-soprano V �� 6:20 Signe Asmussen, mezzo-soprano Danish National Vocal Ensemble Sounds Like You (2007-08) Danish National Symphony Orchestra for two actors, choir and orchestra ��45:20 Thomas Dausgaard, conductor I �� 9:19 II �� 6:32 III �� 3:02 IV �� 2:46 V �� 3:36 VI �� 2:42 VII ��13:44 VIII �� 3:39

Total: 72:36 World premiere recordings

Dacapo is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation The Fragile Possibility of Love by Karl Aage Rasmussen

“It reminds me of something I’ve never heard!” – The remark comes from the Norwegian composer Arne Nordheim as a reaction to a work by Bent Sørensen, and it would be hard to imagine a more oddly apt description of the always-ambivalent expressive climate of the music of this one-of-a-kind composer. Oscar Wilde knew and described the experience of “weeping over sins that I had never committed, and mourning over tragedies that were not my own. A past of which one has been ignorant, and fills one with a sense of sorrows that had been hidden from one’s tears.” In Sørensen’s work a similar weave of universally human experience is manifested in a multitude of ways. Not that his music is based on recycling: the musical idiom is entirely and exclusively of the present, aesthetically and technically, yet the music evokes memories of lived life and ancient dreams. Often fundamentally quite simple music appears in an intricate hall of mirrors where echoes and echoes-of-echoes spread like ripples in the water, are obscured by glissandi, or twist and turn in microtonal veilings. Quiet, effaced contours that can sound as if heard through falling rain or banks of mist, swirling half-shadows that dissolve just as they seem tangible; and yet all, technically speaking, limned with scrupulous calligraphic precision. The capacity of music to create images has always given it a helping hand in relation to our ability to grasp it – would Beethoven’s piano sonata in C sharp minor have had the same career without moonlight? Sørensen’s music has sometimes had to wrench itself free of the loving, but also crushing embrace of literary interpre tations; flickering associations have induced listeners to hear nostalgia, hyper-romanticism, indeed even programme music. And Sørensen’s fondness for the classic ‘tonal’ intervals, the third and sixth, perhaps in itself evokes recollec- tions of weathered musical family heirlooms. But his musical imagery is from the same family Bent Sørensen as Magritte’s famous painting of a pipe with the caption “This is not a pipe”. It is music, plain and simple, neither dream nor reality; it may evoke the basic processes of life – birth, growth, maturation, decay and death – but only refers symbolically to myths from the collective uncon- scious: bells, angels, echoes, shades, gardens, funeral processions, celestial trumpets, the lost innocence of childhood. 4 5 Even in its simplest form, though, the dualism of the mature Sørensen is a matter not only dened opera genre. But Sørensen would never dream of training his music to behave like opera; of memory and presence, but also of the fleeting and the forward-moving, of driving and the only possibility was to get an opera to behave like his music. The result was that the ‘new’ disintegrative forces, of dream and dance; and as a universally human metaphor, quite simply Sørensen stepped forth in all his glory and conquered brand new territories, miniature forms the relationship between pulsating life and the end of life. For the passage of time, the matter of adapted to the opera genre’s narrative mosaic of emotional states, relentless drama, intense which all music is made, is present here in an almost insistent way; ticking clocks or tolling bells presence and daunting unpredictability. All this comes together in the full-length opera Under underscore the sad fact that time not only runs on, but takes us with it. Sørensen described his the Sky, but the duality is still a basic condition; here present and timeless past envelop each violin concerto Sterbende Gärten as “decay in a fixed setting”, and added: “From the moment we other in two parallel stories which in the end seem to fuse together. are born, there is only one way – a slow slippage into decline. Time gnaws away at us.” The five Intermezzi are associated with that opera, but do not form a classic suite – they Bent Sørensen’s originality, imaginative sonorities and compositional skills have been praised have arisen as an independent work along the way in the working process. The symmetrically ever since he had his breakthrough in the mid-eighties; his personal mode of expression was organized movements, three with song and orchestra interrupted by two purely instrumental formulated at an amazingly early stage. Quietly and with apparent ease he has since enriched interludes, may well refer to emotional relations between the characters in the opera, but they and refined the self-mirroring canon technique and the suggestively beating pulse, not by leaps do not refer specifically to its plot. And here too the half-light is evident at several levels: in the and bounds but soberly, steadily, almost methodically, like growth rings in a tree trunk. The con- encounter between surrealistic atonality in one vocal part and almost folk-song-like simplicity in frontation between progression and stillness becomes ever clearer, weightless melodies appear the other, in collisions between clashing dissonances, fragments of children’s songs, folk-fiddler in an echo chamber of several concurrent tempi, and his unique instrumental imagination again tones, in defiant meetings between wistfully humming calm and searing screams. and again finds orchestral colours that “remind you of something you have never heard”. And a In recent years Sørensen has become increasingly interested in more conceptual, frequently occurring feature may come almost as a surprise: for long passages, his music seems boundary-breaking expressive resources, and in Sounds Like You for two actors, choir and limited to the treble register. Which is of course yet another paradox: melancholy and decay in orchestra the collaboration with Peter Asmussen has continued, now in a strange hybrid of scintillatingly bright timbres? concert hall and music drama. A woman and a man are placed among the audience; they If anyone in the eighties had associated Bent Sørensen with the opera genre, most people start to speak, the light falls on them, and their dialogue can be heard from the speakers in would have shaken their heads. Despite the archetypal symbols – dying gardens, deserted the hall. At one point they rise and move both in the hall and among the musicians of the churchyards, craquelured paintings, forgotten ruins – his music was at that time anything but illus- orchestra. They are entirely conscious, bodily present, they relate soberly and specifically to trative. But in 2004 when his first opera was performed at the Royal Danish Theatre, this was no the here-and-now of the concert hall. But at the same time the intimacy of their relationship quantum leap, for in the meantime not only had rhythmically throbbing pulses and sharp contours and the closeness of their voices make them unreal, somewhere between dream and reality. appeared in his expressive repertoire, it had also become increasingly expansive and dynamic. The members of the choir are placed around the hall, dressed as ordinary members of the au- And the elementary musical dramaturgy of far and near, the acoustic and expressive depth per- dience, and the ambivalent situation is further underlined by the way the orchestral musicians spective that arises when musicians are placed in different parts of the concert space, attracted at several points hum along, such that towards the end the choir singers themselves become him again and again, presumably because it represented a similar depth perspective in his music. a speaking audience, and the orchestral musicians leave the scene one by one and move out The Danish dramatist Peter Asmussen felt an elective affinity with the half-light of Sørensen’s among the audience, where for some minutes hidden sound sources infinitely quietly echo music, and together these two artists of the same age ambitiously challenged the tradition-bur- Sounds like You. 6 7 The dialogue between the man and the woman revolves around a fragile, hopeless love, THE PERFORMERS originally related to a meeting in connection with an orchestral concert. It is like Chinese boxes, British mezzo-soprano Lore Lixenberg specializes in contemporary music and has performed a mirror within a mirror: a man and a woman speak in a concert hall, they listen, just like the widely in opera, concert repertory and music-theatre. She has worked with many leading com- audience in the hall, but who is listening to whom? Who are the performers and who the listen- posers and performed throughout Europe at numerous festivals such as Wien Modern, Oslo’s ers? Are the couple themselves listening to the music that is playing right now, or does it rather Ultima and the festivals in Salzburg, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Witten, Huddersfield, Donaueschingen express their thoughts, memories and conflicting emotions? Do their mental states mirror the and Aldeburgh. Lore made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London in 2011 in the world music or do they speak through it? Are the spoken words a triggering factor for the music, or are premiere of the opera Anna Nicole. She also performed the leading role in Bent Sørensen’s they all just ... at a concert? opera Under the Sky at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen as well as performing in many This multiplicity of meanings is of course toned down when one listens to the work on CD, projects with Théâtre de Complicité. Moreover, Lore has performed as soloist with many But Bent Sørensen’s music is so rich in intrinsic musical value, so lyrically pervasive and rhythmi- distinguished orchestras and ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble cally stimulating, dissonant and tonal, caustically biting, dark, yearning and captivatingly dancing, InterContemporain, London Sinfonietta, Klangforum Wien and BCMG. Recent engagements and Asmussen’s raw text about the impossible possibility of love is so charged with gloom, include the role of Anna in Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins as well as a recital of music from the doubt, hope and desire that the experience of this major work can of course never be limited to Weimar Republic with the Aurora Orchestra. people with a valid ticket to a concert hall. Here we are in the cinema of the ears. Soprano Signe Asmussen had her debut in 2001 from the Soloist Class at the Royal Danish The composer Karl Aage Rasmussen is Professor Emeritus of Composition at the Royal Academy Academy of Music in Copenhagen to great acclaim. She has since made her name as a versatile of Music in Aarhus. He has also held many other posts in Danish cultural life and is the author of and charismatic singer within more or less all genres. Signe has performed numerous concerts several books on music and musicians. at home and abroad where collaborations with prominent pianists and conductors has brought her to, a.o., Wigmore Hall, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, The National Galleries in Edinburgh and Concertgebouw i Amsterdam. Her great interest in chamber and contemporary music has even brought her close to the Danish regional orchestras as well as ensembles such as Figura, Esbjerg Ensemble, Scenatet, Diamantensemblet and Danish Chamber Players. Signe has performed at the Royal Danish Opera and the Danish National Opera, most recently as Cho- Cho San in Madama Butterfly. Signe’s tireless efforts for the expansion of the Lied gave her the prestigious Aksel Schiøtz Award in 2009.

Mads Wille is a trained actor from School of Theatre in Aarhus in 1998 and has since worked both as an actor, theatre manager and director. He has drawn attention in a long row of plays at particularly Husets Teater in Købehavn, for which he today is a manager with Simon K. Boberg. Both had earlier founded the small, innovative theatre PLAN-B, where they staged new and 8 9 young theatre, cabarets and poetry slams. In 2006 he made his debut as a stage director with the world’s leading conductors and soloists. The strong and straightforward personality of the the acclaimed play Demokratiske bestræbelser at Kaleidoskop. Mads Wille also featured in Symphony Orchestra is rooted in its close relationship with Danish and Nordic music and it is ac- movies and on television. He is moreover an initiator of Copenhagen’s new theatre festival, CPH knowledged to be one of the world’s leading Carl Nielsen orchestras. From 2012 until his death in STAGE, where he was Chairman of the Board in 2013. With Simon K. Boberg Mads has received June 2014, the orchestra’s chief conductor was the Spanish maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. the Teater 1 Award (2007) and Årets Østers (Oyster of the Year, 2012). Already a few months later, the Symphony Orchestra announced its new principal conductor, Italian Fabio Luisi. The Symphony Orchestra’s honorary conductors are Thomas Dausgaard, Marie Louise Wille is a trained actress from The Danish National School of Theatre in Copen- who resigned as principal conductor of the Orchestra in 2011, and Herbert Blomstedt, principal hagen, 2002. Prior to that she was a co-founder of the experimental Teater Grob. From 2002-05 conductor from 1967 to 1977. The Symphony Orchestra’s latest first guest conductors have been she was a member of the ensemble at Aalborg Teater, and since she has featured in various Yuri Temirkanov, Michael Schønwandt and Dmitri Kitajenko. The home of the Symphony Orches- movie, teatre and TV productions. In 2013 Marie Louise Wille received a Reumert Prize for Best tra is DR Koncerthuset, built in 2009, designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel. female in a leading role in Christian Lollikes’ All My Dreams Come True at Aarhus Teater. She also In 2012, DR Koncerthuset entered the big league when the renowned British music magazine received a Reumert in 2005 for Best supporting actress in Strindbergs’ Miss Julie at the Royal Gramophone rated the concert hall among the ten best in the world. Danish Theatre and also the Prince Consort’s scholarship for roles on TV and in theatre. Since 2010 Marie Louise is working at Aarhus Teater where she performed in Fanny and Alexander, Thomas Dausgaard is Chief Conductor Designate of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jeppe on the Mountatin and Dangerous Liaisons; in the role of La Marquise de Merteuil. Chief Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT), and Honorary Conductor The Danish National Vocal Ensemble consists of 18 professional full-time singers who, since of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, having previously served as its Chief Conductor from the debut in 2007, have taken on everything from Early music and Baroque to Romantic works 2004–2011. He regularly appears with many of the world’s leading orchestras including in Europe and demanding new music. The singers are experienced soloists who bring expression and life to Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Vienna Symphony, Philharmonia Orches- the music. Works that require strong individual performances therefore feature high on the list; tra, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio because it’s all about personal commitment and precision whether performing modern works like France. He began his North American career assisting Seiji Ozawa, and has since appeared with Messiaen’s Cinq Rechants for 12 solo voices or Monteverdi’s Maria Vespers. Several composers of The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony and today have written music for the DNVE, among others Sven-David Sandström, Peter Bruun and the Montreal Symphony. He is also a regular visitor to Asia and Australia, appearing in recent sea- Sunleif Rasmussen. The ensemble has a small but exquisite discography. The singers have just sons with the New Japan Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Sydney and Melbourne received the Diapason d’Or for the Messiaen release L’amour et la foi, and the ensemble can also Symphonies. Festival appearances include the BBC Proms, the Salzburg Festival, Mostly Mozart boast of having received a German ECHO Prize for best innovative choral CD and nominations and Tanglewood. Thomas Dausgaard has recorded well over 50 CDs, including complete cycles for an American Grammy as well as a Gramophone Award. of symphonies by Beethoven (for Simax), Schubert and Schumann (for BIS) and Rued Langgaard (for Dacapo). Future recordings include a Brahms cycle for BIS and works by Pelle Gundmundsen- The Danish National Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1925 under the motto: “The best, Holmgreen with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (for Dacapo). He has been awarded the Cross of and only the best”. Today it is one of the leading symphony orchestras in Europe with visits by Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark, and elected to the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden. 10 11 Kærlighedens skrøbelige mulighed af Karl Aage Rasmussen gang, det stof al musik er gjort af, er til stede her på en næsten påtrængende måde, tikkende ure eller klokkeslag understreger det sørgelige faktum at tiden ikke blot rinder bort, men at den tager os med sig. Sørensen beskrev sin violinkoncert Sterbende Gärten som ”et forfald i faste ”Det minder mig om noget jeg aldrig har hørt!” – Bemærkningen skyldes den norske komponist rammer”, og tilføjede: ”Fra det øjeblik vi bliver født, er der kun én vej – et langsomt glidende Arne Nordheim som reaktion på et værk af Bent Sørensen, og det er svært at forestille sig en forfald. Tiden gnaver sig ind på os.” mere snurrigt-rammende beskrivelse af det altid tvetydige udtryksklima i denne egensindige Bent Sørensens originalitet, klangfantasi og kompositionstekniske formåen har været lovprist komponists musik. Oscar Wilde kendte og beskrev oplevelsen af ”en fortid man ikke har kendt, lige siden han brød igennem midt i 1980’erne, hans personlige udtryksform var forbløffende sorger der er skjult for ens egne tårer eller synder man aldrig har begået”. Hos Sørensen viser et tidligt formuleret. Stilfærdigt og tilsyneladende ubesværet har han siden beriget og forfinet tilsvarende væv af fællesmenneskelig erindring sig på talløse måder. den selvspejlende kanonteknik og den anelsesfuldt bankende puls, ikke i spring, men sindigt, Ikke at hans musik er genbrug, tonesproget er helt og aldeles nutidigt, både i æstetisk og stædigt, næsten metodisk, som årringe i en træstamme. Konfrontationen mellem fremdrift og teknisk henseende, men musikken giver alligevel mindelser om levet liv og ældgamle drømme. stilstand blev stadig tydeligere, vægtløse melodier optræder i et ekkorum af flere, samtidige Ofte optræder en i grunden helt enkel musik i et sindrigt spejlkabinet, hvor ekkoer og ekkoers tempi, og hans enestående instrumentale fantasi finder igen og igen orkesterfarver der ”minder ekkoer breder sig som ringe i vand, utydeliggøres af glissandi eller vendes og drejes i mikroto- om noget man aldrig har hørt”. Og et ofte forekommende træk kan virke næsten overrumplende: nale sløringer. Tyste, udviskede konturer, der kan lyde som blev de hørt gennem faldende regn Det kan være en musik som i lange stræk synes at begrænse sig til diskantregistret. Hvad der eller tågebanker, svirrende halvskygger der opløser sig netop som de synes håndgribelige; og naturligvis er endnu et paradoks: Vemod og forfald i tindrende lyse klangfarver? dog er alt i teknisk henseende tegnet med minutiøs, kalligrafisk præcision. Havde nogen i 80’erne sat Bent Sørensen i forbindelse med operagenren, ville de fleste have Musikkens evne til at skabe billeder har altid givet den en hjælpende hånd i forhold til vores rystet på hovedet. Trods de arketypiske symboler – døende haver, forladte kirkegårde, krakele- opfattelsesevne – ville Beethovens klaversonate i cis-mol have gjort samme karriere uden må- rede malerier, glemte ruiner – var hans musik dengang alt andet end illustrerende. Men da hans neskin? Sørensens musik har undertiden måttet vriste sig fri af et kærligt, men også knugende første opera i 2004 blev opført på Det Kongelige Teater, var der ikke tale om et kvantespring, favntag af litterære tolkninger, flimrende associationer har fået lyttere til at høre både nostalgi, for i mellemtiden var ikke blot rytmisk dunkende pulsslag og skarpe konturer dukket op i hans hyperromantik, ja, endog programmusik. Og Sørensens forkærlighed for de klassisk ”tonale” udtryksform, den var også blevet stadig mere rummelig og dynamisk. Og den elementære intervaller, terts og sekst, fremkalder måske i sig selv minder om forvitret musikalsk arvesølv. musikalske dramaturgi i fjernt og nært, det klanglige og udtryksmæssige dybdeperspektiv som Men hans musikalske sindbilleder er i familie med Magrittes berømte maleri af en pibe med opstår når musikere placeres forskellige steder i koncertrummet, tiltrak ham igen og igen, vel teksten ”dette er ikke en pibe”. De er musik, slet og ret, ikke hverken drøm eller virkelighed, de fordi det repræsenterede et tilsvarende dybdeperspektiv i hans musik. afbilder måske livets basale processer – fødsel, vækst, modning, forfald og død – men viser kun Den danske dramatiker Peter Asmussen følte valgslægtskab med tvelyset i Sørensens symbolsk hen til myter fra det fælles underbevidste: klokker, engle, ekkoer, skygger, haver, ligtog, musik, og sammen udfordrede de to jævnaldrende kunstnere ambitiøst den traditionstyngede himmelske basuner, barndommens tabte uskyld. operagenre. Men Sørensen ville aldrig finde på at dressere sin musik til at opføre sig som opera, I sin enkleste form er dualismen hos den modne Sørensen imidlertid ikke blot erindring og den eneste mulighed var at få en opera til at opføre sig som hans musik. Resultatet blev at nærvær, men flygtighed og fremdrift, drivende og opløsende kræfter, drøm og dans. Og som den ”nye” Sørensen trådte frem i fuld figur og erobrede helt nye rum, miniatureformer afpasset alment menneskelig metafor simpelthen forholdet mellem pulserende liv og endt liv. For tidens operagenrens fortællende mosaik af følelsestilstande, skrupelløs dramatik, intenst nærvær og 12 13 skræmmende uforudsigelighed. Alt det finder sammen i helaftensoperaen Under Himlen, men Denne flertydighed nedtones naturligvis, når man lytter til værket på cd. Men Bent Sørensens dobbeltheden er stadig et grundvilkår; her omslutter nutid og tidløs fortid hinanden i to parallelle musik er så rig på musikalsk selvværd, så lyrisk indtrængende og rytmisk hidsende, dissonant og historier som til slut synes at smelte sammen. tonal, bidende skarp, mørk, længselsfuld og dansant medrivende, og Asmussens hudløse tekst De fem Intermezzi knytter sig til operaen, men udgør ikke en klassisk suite – de er blevet til om kærlighedens umulige mulighed er så ladet med sortsyn, tvivl, håb og begær at oplevelsen af som et selvstændigt værk undervejs i arbejdsprocessen. De symmetrisk organiserede satser, tre dette storværk naturligvis aldrig kan være forbeholdt folk med gyldig billet til en koncertsal. Her med sang og orkester afbrudt af to rent instrumentale mellemspil, henviser nok til følelsesmæs- er vi i ørenes biograf. sige relationer mellem operaens personer, men ikke konkret til dens handlingsgang. Og også Komponisten Karl Aage Rasmussen er professor emeritus i komposition ved Det Jyske Musik- her viser operaens tvelys sig på flere planer, i mødet mellem surrealistisk atonalitet i den ene konservatorium. Han har varetaget talrige andre hverv i dansk kulturliv og er forfatter til en lang vokalstemme og næsten folkesangslignende enkelhed i den anden, i kollisioner mellem heftige række bøger om musik og musikere. dissonanser, stumper af børnesange og spillemandstoner, i trodsige møder mellem vemodigt nynnende ro og skærende skrig. I de senere år har Sørensen i stigende grad interesseret sig for mere konceptuelle og grænseop- søgende udtryksmidler, og i Sounds Like You for to skuespillere, kor og orkester er samarbejdet med Peter Asmussen fortsat, nu i en forunderlig hybrid mellem koncertsal og musikteater. En kvinde og en mand er placeret blandt publikum, de begynder at tale, lyset falder på dem, og deres indbyrdes dialog kan høres i salens højtalere. På et tidspunkt rejser de sig og bevæger sig såvel i salen som midt blandt orkestrets musikere. De er helt nærværende, kropsligt til stede, de forholder sig nøgternt og konkret til koncertsalens her-og-nu. Men intimiteten i deres samvær og deres stemmers nærhed gør dem samtidig uvirkelige, et sted mellem drøm og virkelighed. Medlemmerne af koret er placeret rundt omkring i salen, klædt som almindeligt publikum, og den flertydige situation understreges yder- ligere af at orkestermusikere flere steder nynner med, at kormedlemmerne mod slutningen selv bliver et talende publikum, og at orkestermusikerne én for én forlader scenen og bevæger sig ud blandt publikum, hvor skjulte lydgivere uendelig tyst afspiller nogle minutters ekko af Sounds Like You. Dialogen mellem manden og kvinden kredser om en skrøbelig, håbløs kærlighed, oprindelig knyttet til deres møde netop i forbindelse med en orkesterkoncert. Det er som kinesiske æsker, et spejl i et spejl: En mand og en kvinde taler i en koncertsal, de lytter, ganske som salens publikum, men hvem lytter til hvem? Hvem er optrædende og hvem tilhørere? Lytter parret selv til den musik, der spiller netop nu, eller udtrykker den snarere deres tanker, erindringer og modstridende følelser? Spejler musikken sig i deres sindsbevægelser, eller taler de gennem den? Er de talte ord en udløsende faktor for musik, eller er alle blot ... til koncert? 14 15 DE MEDVIRKENDE Demokratiske bestræbelser på Kaleidoskop. Mads Wille har også optrådt på film og i tv. Han er Den britiske mezzosopran Lore Lixenberg dyrker navnlig den ny musik og har optrådt vidt desuden initiativtager til Københavns nye teaterfestival, CPH STAGE, hvor han var bestyrelses- omkring inden for opera, koncertrepertoiret og musikteater. Hun har arbejdet med mange tone- formand i 2013. Mads har sammen med Simon K. Boberg modtaget Teater 1-prisen (2007) og angivende komponister og har optrådt ude i Europa på adskillige festivaler som Wien Modern, Årets Østers (2012). Ultima i Oslo og festivalerne i Salzburg, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Witten, Huddersfield, Donaueschin- gen og Aldeburgh. Lore debuterede i 2011 Royal Opera House i London i verdenspremieren Marie Louise Wille er uddannet fra Statens Teaterskole i København i 2002. Før da var hun på operaen Anna Nicole. Hun havde også hovedrollen i Bent Sørensens opera Under himlen medstifter af det eksperimenterende Teater Grob. Fra 2002-05 var hun en del af ensemblet på på Operaen I København og har derudover optrådte med i mange projekter med Théâtre de Aalborg Teater og har siden medvirket i diverse film-, teater og tv-produktioner. Marie Louise Complicité. Som solist har Lore sunget med mange anerkendte orkestre og ensembler, bl.a. BBC Wille modtog i 2013 en Reumert for Bedste kvindelige hovedrolle i Christian Lollikes All My Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble InterContemporain, London Sinfonietta, Klangforum Wien og Dreams Come True på Aarhus Teater. Hun modtog også en Reumert i 2005 for Bedste birolle BCMG. Seneste engagementer tæller rollen som Anna i Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins samt en i Strindbergs Frk. Julie på Det Kongelige Teater og har fået overrakt Prinsgemalens legat for recital med musik fra Weimar-republikken med Aurora Orkestret roller på tv og teatret. Marie Louise har været tilknyttet Aarhus Teater siden 2010, hvor hun bl.a. har spillet med i Fanny og Alexander, Jeppe på Bjerget og Farlige forbindelser, hvor hun spillede Sopranen Signe Asmussen debuterede i 2001 fra Solistklassen på Det Kongelige Danske hovedrollen som La Marquise de Merteuil. Musikkonservatorium med strålende anmeldelser til følge. Hun har siden slået sit navn fast som en alsidig og karismatisk sangerinde inden for stort set alle genrer. Signe har givet et utal af DR VokalEnsemblet består af 18 professionelle fuldtidssangere, der siden debuten i 2007 har koncerter herhjemme og i udlandet, hvor arbejdet med prominente pianister og dirigenter har taget livtag med alt fra tidlig musik og barok til romantiske værker og krævende ny musik. San- bragt hende til bl.a. Wigmore Hall i London, Symphony Hall i Birmingham, The National Galleries gerne er erfarne solister, som bringer udtryk og liv ind i musikken. Derfor står værker, der kræver i Edinburgh og Concertgebouw i Amsterdam. Hendes store interesse for kammermusik og ny stærke individuelle præstationer, højt på listen hos ensemblet; for det handler om personligt kompositionsmusik har bragt hende i tæt kontakt med landsdelsorkestre og ensembler som bl.a. engagement og præcision, hvad enten det er moderne værker som Messiaens Cinq Rechants Figura, Esbjerg Ensemble, Scenatet, Diamantensemblet og Storstrøms Kammerensemble. Hun for 12 solostemmer eller Monteverdis Mariavesper, der opføres. Flere nulevende komponister har haft engagementer på bl.a. Det Kongelige Teater og Den Jyske Opera, senest som Cho-Cho har skrevet specielt til DR VokalEnsemblet, fx Sven-David Sandström, Peter Bruun og Sunleif San i Madame Butterfly. Signes utrættelige indsats for lied’ens udbredelse indbragte hende i Rasmussen. Ensemblet har en mindre, men udsøgt diskografi. Sangerne har netop fået en 2009 den prestigefyldte Aksel Schiøtz-pris. Diapason d`or for Messiaen-udgivelsen L’amour et la foi, og ensemblet kan desuden bryste sig af at have modtaget en tysk ECHO Preis for bedste innovative kor-cd samt nomineringer til både Mads Wille er uddannet fra Skuespillerskolen ved Aarhus Teater i 1998 og har siden arbejdet en amerikansk Grammy og en Gramophone Award. som både skuespiller, teaterleder og instruktør. Han har gjort sig bemærket i en lang række fore- stillinger på især Husets Teater i Købehavn, som han i dag leder sammen med Simon K. Boberg. DR SymfoniOrkestret blev grundlagt i 1925 og er i dag et af Europas førende symfonior- Begge stiftede tidligere Teater PLAN-B, hvor de opsatte ny, ung dramatik, cabaret-aftener og kestre med besøg af verdens bedste solister og dirigenter. DR SymfoniOrkestrets stærke og poetry slams. I 2006 fik Mads sin debut som sceneinstruktør med den anmelderroste forestilling ligefremme musikalske personlighed har rod i det tætte forhold til dansk og nordisk musik, og 16 17 ensemblet er et af de førende Carl Nielsen-orkestre i verden. Fra 2012 var DR SymfoniOrke- INTERMEZZI INTERMEZZI strets chefdirigent den spanske maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, men med hans død i juni 2014 gik jagten på en ny i gang, og allerede i september 2014 kunne orkestret meddele, at den I. (Fra III. akt, 12. scene) I. (From Act II, Scene 12) IDA IDA næste chefdirigent bliver italienske Fabio Luisi. DR SymfoniOrkestrets æresdirigenter er Thomas Det er ikke dit barn. Det er prinsens. Det er ikke dit It is not your child. It is the prince’s. It is not your child. Dausgaard, der fratrådte som chefdirigent for orkestret i 2011, og Herbert Blomstedt, der var barn. Prinsens barn. Det er prinsens. The prince’s child. It is the prince’s. chefdirigent fra 1967 til 1977. DR SymfoniOrkestrets seneste 1. gæstedirigenter har været Yuri Spørg min mor. Hun ved alting. Spørg min mor. Ask my mother. She knows everything. Ask my mother. Temirkanov, Michael Schønwandt og Dmitri Kitajenko. Hjemmebanen er DR Koncerthuset, fra Jeg dansede med prinsen. Husker du mor? Jeg I danced with the prince. Do you remember Mother? 2009, der er tegnet af den berømte franske arkitekt Jean Nouvel. I 2012 spillede DR Koncert dansede med prinsen. Med prinsen. Husker du I danced with the prince. With the prince. Do you re- mor? Med Prinsen. Hans mænd faldt over dig som member Mother? With the prince. His men attacked huset sig for alvor op i superligaen, da det anerkendte britiske musikmagasin Gramophone vilde dyr. Han faldt over mig, mens du lå med dine you like wild animals. He attacked me while you lay kårede Koncertsalen til at være en af de 10 bedste i verden. sår. Husker du mor? Med prinsen. Jeg dansede with your wounds. Do you remember Mother? With med prinsen. the prince. I danced with the prince. Thomas Dausgaard tiltræder som chefdirigent for BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra i 2015 Aldrig var du smukkere smukkere! Aldrig smukkere! You were never more beautiful, beautiful! Never more og er chefdirigent for Det Svenske Kammerorkester, 1. gæstedirigent for Seattle Symphony, Dans for prinsen, Ida! Dans for prinsen. Dans. beautiful! Dance for the prince, Ida! Dance for the For en prins danser jeg vals. prince. Dance. For a prince I dance the waltz. For a æresdirigent for Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) samt DR SymfoniOrkestret, som han tidligere For en greve er jeg ej til fals. count I’m not for sale. var chefdirigent for (2004-2011). Dausgaard optræder ofte med mange af verdens førende orkestre, bl.a. Gewandhaus-orkestret i Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Wiener Symfonikerne, (Fra I. akt, 2. scene) (From Act I, Scene 2) Philharmonia, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony og Orchestre Philharmonique de Molte MOLTE Radio France. Hans nordamerikanske karriere startede som assistent for Seiji Ozawa, og han har Hver morgen vågner jeg i mit iskolde slot. Jeg går Every morning I wake in my ice-cold castle. I go out ud på balkonen og det er vinter og alting er endnu on the balcony and it is winter and everything is still siden optrådt med Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto mørkt. Altid vinter. Jeg ser markerne og skovene dark. Always winter. I see the fields and the forests Symphony og Montreal Symphony. Han er også regelmæssig gæst i Asien og Australien, senest og landet. Den lille by. Og alle menneskene. Lysene and the countryside. The little village. And all the hos New Japan Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic samt Sydney og Melbourne Symfo- de tænder. Lysene de slukker. Lydene af deres people. The candles they light. The candles they put nikerne og har dirigeret på festivaler som BBC Proms, Salzburg Festspillene, Mostly Mozart arbejde. Sukkene fra deres out. The sounds of their work. The sighs from their og Tanglewood. Dausgaard har indspillet over 50 cd’er, bl.a. samlede symfonier af Beethoven senge. Kirkeklokkerne når de dør. Eller fødes. beds. The church bells when they die. Or are born. (for Simax), Schubert og Schumann (for BIS) og Rued Langgaard (for Dacapo). Kommende III. (fra 3. akt, 10. scene) III. indspilninger tæller en Brahms-cyklus for BIS samt værker af Pelle Gundmundsen-Holmgreen IDA (From Act III, Scene 10) med BBC Symphony (Dacapo). Thomas Dausgaard er Ridder af Dannebrogordenen og medlem Elskede, elskede! IDA af Kungliga Musikalska Akademien i Sverige. Jeg vidste du ville komme! Du henter mig ud af Beloved, beloved! kulden. Verden forandrer sig. Dine øjne lyser den I knew you would come! You fetch me up from the op. Den stråler af dig. cold. The world is changing. Your eyes light it up. It shines with your light.

18 19 Vær ikke bange. Hun ved alting. Hun ved alting. Don’t be afraid. She knows everything. She knows Kærlighed er liv, og jeg vil ikke liv. Jeg ville slå ham Love is life, and I will not live. I would kill him. I would Kom, kom, lad os sove i kærligheden. Være lyk- everything. ihjel. Jeg ville slå din mand ihjel. kill your husband. kelige, lykkelige. Come, come, let us sleep in love, Be happy, happy. IDA IDA MOLTE MOLTE For kærligheden ? (For at få mig?) For love ? (To have me?) (Ida) (Ida) MOLTE MOLTE IDA IDA Du var et eventyr. En bog man lukker. Tilgiv mig You were a fairytale. A book one closes. Forgive me. Lykkelige, lykkelige! Happy, happy! V. V. MOLTE MOLTE (fra II. akt, 6. scene) (From Act II, Scene 6) (Ida, vågn op!) (Ida, wake up!) MOLTE MOLTE Jeg er født med de kolde mure omkring mig. Jeg er I was born with the cold walls around me. I was IDA IDA født med landet og skovene og den lille by for mine born with the countryside and the forests and the Kærlighedens søvn, – jeg vil sove kærlighedens søvn! The sleep of love – I want to sleep the sleep of love! øjne. Alt er mit. Jeg kan stå på mit slot og se ned på little village before my eyes. Everything is mine. I Er du bange? Are you afraid? alting. Se lysene der tændes og slukkes, høre men- can stand in my castle and look down at every- neskenes lyde. Men jeg må blive bag murene, som thing. See the candles being lit and extinguished, MOLTE MOLTE vinterkulden aldrig slipper. Som vinterkulden aldrig hear the sounds of the people. But I must stay (Nej.) (No.) slipper. Som vinterkulden aldrig slipper. behind the walls, which the winter cold never Mærk kulden i mig. Mærk kulden i mig. leaves. Which the winter cold never leaves. Which IDA IDA De dansede ikke for ham. De dansede for mig. De the winter cold never leaves. Er du bange? Are you afraid? dansede for mig Feel the cold in me. Feel the cold in me. They did not dance for him. They danced for me. MOLTE MOLTE They danced for me. Dit hjerte lyver. Mit hjerte lyver. Mit hjerte lyver. Your heart is lying. My heart is lying. My heart is Murenes kulde og den evige vinter er mit hjem. Jeg lying. The cold of the walls and the eternal winter IDA IDA elsker murenes kulde og den evige vinter.. Deres are my home. I love the cold of the walls and the Min mor kommer My mother is coming. uforanderlighed. Stilhed. eternal winter. Their changelessness. Silence. MOLTE MOLTE IDA IDA Dine øjne så på mig og et øjeblik forsvandt kulden. Your eyes gazed at me and for a moment the cold (Kærlighedens søvn.) (The sleep of love.) Dine øjne så på mig. Jeg har levet med kulden. went away. Your eyes gazed at me. I have lived Lytter du til mig? Jeg har levet med kulden. Kulden with the cold. Are you listening to me? I have lived MOLTE MOLTE i murene. Kulden i skovene og landet. Jeg har lært with the cold. The cold in the walls. The cold in the Kærligheden sover ikke. Kærligheden er lys og to, Love does not sleep. Love is light and two who will mig at leve hvor vinterkulden aldrig slipper. forests and the countryside. I have learned to live der vil miste hinanden. En dag vil miste hinanden. lose each other. One day we shall lose each other. Men murene revnede under dine øjne. Varmen where the winter cold never leaves.

20 21 trængte ind som en fjende. Et øjeblik. Som en But the walls cracked under your gaze. The warmth KVINDEN THE WOMAN fjende. Varmen er min fjende. Din varme er min forced its way in like an enemy. For a moment. Like Efter koncerten sætter jeg mig ind et sted og han After the concert I sit down somewhere and he fjende. an enemy. The warmth is my enemy. Your warmth kommer hen til mig og spørger om jeg ikke var comes over to me and asks if I was not taht woman Se på murene af vinterkulde. Lad dit blik varme is my enemy. hende til koncerten. Han havde lagt mærke til mig. at the concert. He has noticed me. I ask him: Why dem. Lad dit blik hvile på min verden og lad din Look at the walls of winter cold. Let your gaze Jeg spørger ham: Hvorfor lagde du mærke til mig? did you notice me? varme strømme ind i den. warm them. Let your gaze rest on my world and let Jeg vil leve igen. Jeg vil mærke varmen i mig. Jeg your warmth flow into it. MANDEN THE MAN vil mærke kærligheden strømme gennem mig. Jeg I will live again. I well feel the warmth in me. I will Nogen lægger man mærke til, andre ikke. One notices some, not others. elsker dig. Ida. Jeg elsker dig feel love flow through me. I love you. Ida. I love you. KVINDEN THE WOMAN IDA IDA Så vekslede vi nogle ord om koncerten og så Then we exchanged some words about the con- Min mor kommer. My mother is coming. skiltes vi. Jeg troede aldrig jeg ville se ham igen. cert and then we parted. I never thought I would see him again. SOUNDS LIKE YOU SOUNDS LIKE YOU Orkestret er på scenen. Dirigenten kommer ind. The orchestra is on the stage. The conductor comes MANDEN THE MAN Koncerten begynder. KVINDEN og MANDEN be- in. The concert begins. THE WOMAN and THE MAN Jeg så hende til koncerten. Jeg lagde mærke til I saw her at the concert. I noticed her before the finder sig i salen blandt publikum. Blandt publikum are in the hall among the audience. Among the hende inden koncerten. Og lidt senere, da musik- concert. And a little later, when the music had befinder sig ligeledes seksten medlemmer af koret. audience too are sixteen members of the choir. ken var gået i gang, så jeg hende igen. Bagefter started, I saw her again. Afterwards I saw that she så jeg at hun gik ind på en bar og jeg fulgte efter went into a bar and I followed her. And I pretended I. I. hende. Og jeg lod som om jeg var i tvivl om jeg I was in doubt about whether I had seen her at the KVINDEN THE WOMAN havde set hende til koncerten. Jeg spurgte hende: concert. I asked her: Were you not at the concert? Han sidder foran mig. Han kan ikke se mig. Han He sits before me. He cannot see me. He can- Var du ikke til koncerten? lytter. Lige nu er musikken holdt op. Eller jeg kan not see me. He is listening . Just now the music ikke høre den. Synet af ham fortrænger musikken. stopped. Or I cannot hear it. The sight of him drives KVINDEN THE WOMAN Nu ser jeg ikke på ham. Jeg bøjer blikket bort. Nu er out the music. Now I am not looking at him. I turn Hvorfor lagde du mærke til mig? Why did you notice me? musikken der igen. my gaze away. Now the music is there again. MANDEN THE MAN MANDEN THE MAN Jeg svarede det ved jeg ikke. Og det var faktisk I answered: I don’t know. And in fact it was true. Hun sidder bag mig. Jeg kan ikke se hende. Jeg She sits behind me. I cannot see her. I would like sandt. Så skiltes vi. Jeg fik aldrig hendes navn. Then we parted. I never got her name. ville gerne lytte til musikken, men jeg kan ikke. Jeg to listen to the music, but I cannot. I imagine how forestiller mig, hvordan hun sidder. Lyttende. Inden she sits. Listening. Inside me it has stopped. The KVINDEN THE WOMAN i mig er den holdt op. Musikken. Jeg kan se mig music. I can look around me. They are listening. The Jeg gav ham aldrig mit navn. I never gave him my name. omkring. De lytter. De andre. Jeg tror ikke hun har others. I do not think she has seen me. Now the set mig. Nu er musikken der igen. music is there again. MANDEN THE MAN Men jeg fulgte efter hende. But I followed her.

22 23 KVINDEN THE WOMAN mig ud af mit eget net. Mit eget mønster. Mine fore- My own pattern. My ideas about myself and my life. Det er mærkeligt. Jeg har aldrig fået spurgt ham, It is strange. I have never managed to ask him how stillinger om mig selv og mit liv. At hun ville kunne That she could save me from myself. I have a panic hvordan han fik mit navn. he got my name. redde mig fra mig selv. Jeg har en panisk angst fear of breaking my patterns. If I break them the for at bryde mine mønstre. Hvis jeg bryder dem, troubles come pouring in. But I know that. The pat- MANDEN THE MAN vælter ulykkerne ned over mig. Men jeg ved det jo. terns are only a way of staying in control. Making Hvis hun var kørt hjem i bil, så havde vi aldrig set If she had driven home in a car, we would never Mønstrene er kun en måde at opretholde kontrollen. everything a matter of sticking to patterns. And in hinanden igen. Eller hvis nogen havde hentet have seen each other again. Or if someone had Gøre alting til et spørgsmål om overholdelse af møn- the end everything becomes an ornament anyway. hende. Eller hvis hun havde taget en taxa. Men hun picked her up. Or if she had taken a taxi. But she stre. Og til sidst bliver alting alligevel et ornament. Decorative. Free of emotion, Free of fear. Free tog toget og jeg fulgte efter hende uden at hun took the train and I followed her without her seeing Til pynt. Befriet for følelse. Befriet for angst. Befriet of meaning, of endings. Of death. It is only there, så mig. Jeg så huset hun forsvandt i. Jeg så hvor me. I saw the house she disappeared into. I saw for mening, for ophør. For død. Det er der bare uden without meaning, to fill a vacuum. Like music. der blev lys og på den måde fandt jeg ud af hvem where the light went on and that is how I found out mening for at fylde et tomrum. Som musik. hun var. who she was. KVINDEN THE WOMAN Mobiltelefon ringer. Lyden overtages af orkestret. The mobile phone rings. The sound is picked up by Hvorfor skulle man undlade kærligheden, undgå Why should one neglect love, avoid it, avoid be- the orchestra. den, undgå svigtet, smerten og ensomheden, trayal, pain and loneliness, avoid being abandoned, undgå at blive forladt, såret? Du ville sikkert sige for wounded? You would probably say “so as not to go KVINDEN THE WOMAN ikke at gå i stykker. Er det ikke bedre at gå i stykker to pieces”. Isn’t it better to go to pieces than not Bare det at høre hans stemme i telefonen. Hvad Just hearing his voice on the telephone. What end slet ikke at gå nogen steder? Hvorfor skulle to go anywhere at all? Why should you preserve skal jeg sige? På en mærkelig måde lammede det should I say? In some strange way it made me man bevare noget man kalder sig selv, bare for something you call yourself, just to let it die intact, mig. Som om noget skete, som skulle ske, noget numb. As if something was happening, something at lade det dø intakt, uantastet? Jeg tror godt du unsullied? I think you could blow me apart and in som jeg intet kunne stille noget op mod, noget som I could do nothing about, something that had to kunne sprænge mig i stumper og stykker og du ville pieces and you would probably leave me disabled skulle ske. Der er også noget andet. Musikken vi happen. There’s something else too. The music sikkert efterlade mig invalideret og blødende, men and bleeding, but rather that than silence. I want hørte. Koncerten. Jeg kan intet huske af den. Som we heard. The concert. I can’t remember any of hellere det end stilheden. Jeg vil gerne ødelægges to be ruined by you, destroyed, to perish. I want to om det var en drøm eller som jeg ikke var der, som it. As if it was a dream or as if I wasn’t there, as if I af dig, destrueres, gå til grunde. Jeg vil gerne dø fra die of something that has filled me, filled me up and om jeg var død. was dead. noget der har fyldt mig, fyldt mig helt og gjort mig made me happy for a second. I don’t want to die lykkelig et sekund. Jeg vil ikke dø midt i en længsel. amidst longing. MANDEN THE MAN Og det er begyndelsen. And that is the beginning. III. III. KVINDEN THE WOMAN II. II. Hvad hører du? What do you hear? MANDEN THE MAN Jeg går efter hende den aften efter koncerten fordi I follow her that evening after the concert because MANDEN THE MAN jeg har en vag fornemmelse af at hun ville kunne I have a vague feeling she could save my life. Or Hører? Hear? redde mit liv. Eller redde det lyder måske så vold- save it maybe sounds so intense, I don’t know. Get somt, jeg ved ikke. Få det til at ændre retning. Bringe it to change direction. Get me out of my own net. KVINDEN THE WOMAN Når du lytter? Hvad hører du? When you listen? What do you hear? 24 25 MANDEN THE MAN MANDEN THE MAN Musikken. The music. Kan du huske i går? Can you remember yesterday?

KVINDEN THE WOMAN KVINDEN THE WOMAN Jeg vil gerne høre hvad du hører. I want to hear what you hear. Nej. No.

MANDEN THE MAN MANDEN THE MAN Måske er musikken helt alene og ingen hører den. Maybe the music is all alone and no one hears Jeg kan. I can. Måske er den overladt til sig selv. Uhørt. Uhørt it. Maybe it’s left to itself. Unheard. Unheard-of forfærdelig. Uhørt vidunderlig. Uhørt alting. Uhørt horror. Unheard-of wonder. Unheard-of everything. KVINDEN THE WOMAN intet. Hvad hører du? Unheard-of nothing. What do you hear? Det var den første gang du sagde min elskede til mig. That was the first time you said my love to me.

KVINDEN THE WOMAN MANDEN THE MAN Jeg ved ikke hvad skal jeg skal høre. I don’t know what I’m supposed to hear. Bagefter tænkte jeg at halvdelen af de ord jeg Afterwards I thought that half the words I had said havde sagt var løgn. were lies. MANDEN THE MAN Hvorfor lytter du så? So why do you listen? KVINDEN THE WOMAN Jeg gik alene hjem gennem byen. Det var ved at I went home along through the city. Morning was KVINDEN THE WOMAN blive morgen og jeg kyssede træerne og dansede coming and I kissed the trees and danced on the Fordi jeg ikke ved hvad jeg skal stille op med den. Because I don’t know what I’m supposed to do på bænkene. Dit ansigt var overalt. benches. Your face was everywhere. Den efterlader mig som et lille grædende barn, der with it. It leaves me like a little crying child who ikke ved hvordan det skal komme hjem. doesn’t know how to get home. MANDEN THE MAN Men jeg var der ikke. But I was not there. MANDEN THE MAN Hvorfor er du her? Why are you here? KVINDEN THE WOMAN Inde i mig. Inside me. KVINDEN THE WOMAN Jeg ser på alle de andre der lytter. Jeg ser hvordan I look at all the others who are listening. I see how MANDEN THE MAN musikken fylder dem. Jeg ser hvordan der i det the music fills them. I see how the moment they Jeg så mig ikke. I didn’t see me. øjeblik de lytter ikke er plads til andet inde i dem listen there’s no room for anything else in them but end musikken. Det ville jeg også gerne. Musikken the music. I would like that too. The music must IV. IV. skal tage alt det, ødelægge alt det, som jeg af take all that, destroy all that which by force of habit KVINDEN THE WOMAN dårlig vane kalder mit liv. I call my life. Hvorfor griber du ikke ud efter mig? Why don’t you reach out for me?

MANDEN THE MAN Griber du? Are you reaching? 26 27 KVINDEN THE WOMAN karakter og form og det bliver helt tydeligt – hvad the sounds take on character and form and it Jeg elsker dig. Elsker du mig? I love you. Do you love me? der først var støj, en forstyrrelse, bliver et samleje. becomes quite clear – what at first was noise, a Lyden overtages gradvist af orkestret. disturbance, becomes intercourse. The sound is Tavshed. Silence. gradually taken over by the orchestra.

KVINDEN THE WOMAN MANDEN THE MAN Hvorfor ikke? Why not? Nu er det nat. Og alting er stille igen. Natten ube- Now it is night. And everything is quiet again. The vægelig mellem gaderne og bilerne og legetøjet. night, motionless among the streets and the cars MANDEN THE MAN Og ingen hører os lade natten falde, ingen hører os. and the toys. And no one hears us let the night fall, Jeg – I .... no one hears us.

KVINDEN THE WOMAN KVINDEN THE WOMAN Hvad? What? Og nu er det morgen. Og alting er stille og udenfor And now it is morning. And everything is quiet falder solen lydløst gennem trækronerne, ned på and outside the sun falls soundlessly through the MANDEN THE MAN gaderne, på bilerne, og på legetøjet som ingen treetops, down on the streets, on the cars, and on Der er nogen der slås udenfor. There are people fighting outside. bruger endnu. the toys no one is playing with yet.

KVINDEN THE WOMAN MANDEN/KVINDEN THE MAN/THE WOMAN Hvad kommer det os ved? What does it matter to us? Ingen kan høre os. No one can hear us.

MANDEN THE MAN V. V. Jeg vil gerne mene noget. Jeg vil gerne have en I want to believe something. I want to have an KVINDEN THE WOMAN mening om noget. En mening med noget. Et stand- opinion about something. A point in something, A Hvorfor lukker du øjnene, når vi elsker? Why do you close your eyes when we make love? punkt. Noget uafviseligt. point of view. Something undeniable. MANDEN THE MAN KVINDEN THE WOMAN Lukker jeg øjnene? Do I close my eyes? Hvorfor? Why? KVINDEN THE WOMAN MANDEN THE MAN Kan du ikke holde ud at se på mig? Can’t you bear to look at me? For at holde fast i verden. To keep a grip on the world. MANDEN THE MAN KVINDEN THE WOMAN Du er smuk. You are beautiful. Jeg elsker dig. Er det ikke nok? I love you. Isn’t that enough? KVINDEN THE WOMAN KORET frembringer lydene af et samleje. Først helt THE CHOIR makes the noises of sexual intercourse. Hvorfor lukker du dem så? Jeg vil gerne se dine Then why do you close them? I want to see your stille, “uforståeligt”, så efterhånden tager lydene First very quietly, “incomprehensibly”, then gradually øjne. Jeg vil gerne se ind i dig. eyes. I want to look inside you. 28 29 MANDEN THE MAN MANDEN THE MAN Lukker jeg øjnene? Do I close my eyes? En dag for længe siden siger hun til mig: One day long ago she said to me:

KVINDEN THE WOMAN KVINDEN THE WOMAN Jeg kan optage dig på film. Så kan du se dig selv. I can record you on film. The you can see yourself. Stop døden et øjeblik. Hold om mig. Hold om mig. Stop death for a moment. Hold me. Hold me.

MANDEN THE MAN MANDEN THE MAN Men jeg ville ikke vide hvem jeg så. But I wouldn’t know who I saw. Og den dag holdt jeg faktisk om hende og måske And that day in fact I held her and maybe stopped stoppede den et øjeblik. it for a moment. KVINDEN THE WOMAN Dig selv. Yourself. VII. VII. KVINDEN THE WOMAN MANDEN THE MAN Han går foran mig. Hvorfor opsøger man steder, He is walking ahead of me. Why does one look for Mine øjne ville være lukkede. Jeg ville ikke kunne se ind My eyes would be closed. I wouldn’t be able to look hvor man har mødt mennesker eller været sammen places where one has met people or been with i mig selv. Mine øjne ville være lukkede som om jeg var inside myself. My eyes would be closed as if I were med dem eller set dem? Den der tåbelige drøm, them or seen then? That foolish dream, that the død. Måske er det fordi jeg har lyst til at forsvinde. dead. Maybe it’s because I feel like disappearing. om at stedet vil trylle dem frem, at stedet holder place will conjure them up, that the place will keep dem fast. a hold on them. KVINDEN THE WOMAN Hvad? What? MANDEN THE MAN Hun går bagved mig. Hvorfor var du til koncerten? She is walking behind me. Why were you at the MANDEN THE MAN Jeg ville have taget afsked med dig. Jeg ville have concert? I would have said goodbye to you. I would At jeg lukker øjnene. That I close my eyes. opsøgt stedet, hvor du havde været og kysset dig have looked for the place where you had been and en sidste gang. Du skulle ikke have været der. Jeg kissed you one last time. You shouldn’t have been KVINDEN THE WOMAN ville ikke finde dig, jeg ville miste dig. there. I didn’t want to find you, I wanted to lose you. Hvorfor har du lyst til at forsvinde? Why do you feel like disappearing? KVINDEN THE WOMAN MANDEN THE MAN Måske har han været til alle koncerter siden. Maybe he’s been to all the concerts since then. Hvis jeg vidste det, ville jeg blive. If I knew that, I would stay. Måske er tilfældet mit og ikke hans. Jeg ville have Maybe the chance was mine and not his. I would set ham alle de andre gange også. Måske har hans have seen him all the other times too. Maybe his VI. VI. tilstedeværelse intet med mig at gøre. presence has nothing to do with me. KVINDEN THE WOMAN Hold om mig. Vil du ikke nok? Hold om mig. Stop dø- Hold me. Won’t you please? Hold me. Stop death MANDEN THE MAN den et øjeblik. Hvorfor lytter du ikke til mig? Hører du for a moment. Why aren’t you listening to me? Don’t Jeg overvejede faktisk om jeg skulle gå hen til In fact I thought about going over to you. But I mig ikke? Jeg siger til dig, hold om mig, hold om mig. you hear me? I’m telling you, hold me, hold me. dig. Men jeg gjorde det ikke. Jeg forsvandt inden didn’t do it. I disappeared before the music was musikken var forbi. Jeg rejste mig og gik ud. Jeg over. I got up and left. I don’t think you saw me. I

30 31 tror ikke du så mig. Jeg bøjede mig sammen. Jeg bent down low. I crawled on the floor along the MANDEN THE MAN kravlede på gulvet langs rækkerne. Jeg tror ikke du rows. I don’t think you saw me. Did you see me? Jeg vendte mig om, jeg så mig tilbage. I turned around, I looked behind me. så mig. Så du mig? KVINDEN THE WOMAN KVINDEN THE WOMAN Jeg vidste ikke i hvilken retning jeg skulle løbe. I didn’t know which way to run. Jeg forberedte mig på at møde ham efter koncer- I got ready to meet him after the concert. But he ten. Men han var der ikke. Han var forsvundet i wasn’t there. He had vanished into the crowd. I MANDEN THE MAN mængden. Jeg tror ikke han så mig. Så du mig? don’t think he saw me. Did you see me? Men der var ingen. But there was no one.

MANDEN THE MAN KVINDEN THE WOMAN Jeg stod udenfor og lyttede til det sidste af musik- I stood outside and listened to the last of the mu- Jeg hørte ingen. Så ingen. Og jeg blev stående og I heard no one. Saw no one. And I stood there and ken. Jeg tænkte, nu sidder du derinde og lytter til sic. I thought, now you are sitting in there listening alting var stille og et øjeblik efter kom folk strøm- everything was quiet and a moment later people den samme musik. Hvad hører du? to the same music. What do you hear? mende ud og de talte og råbte og jeg blev stående came crowding out and they talked and shouted og lod dem forsvinde og efter et stykke tid var and I stood there and let them disappear and after KVINDEN THE WOMAN alting stille og lysene blev slukket bag mig og alting a while everything was quiet and the lights were Jeg forestillede mig at den musik var den sidste I imagined that the music was the last he heard. Or var helt stille igen. switched off behind me and everything was very han hørte. Eller vi hørte det samme. Måske var det we heard the same. Perhaps it was like that. We quiet again. sådan. Vi hørte det samme. heard the same. Mobiltelefon ringer. Lyden overtages af orkestret. The mobile phone rings. The sound is picked up by MANDEN THE MAN the orchestra. Så stoppede den. Musikken. Holdt op. Døde hen. Then it stopped. The music. Came to an end. Died Under bifaldet løb jeg ud på gaden. away. During the applause I ran out on the street. MANDEN THE MAN Det føles forkert ikke at se på dig, mens jeg siger It feels wrong not to look at you while I say this. KVINDEN THE WOMAN dette. Men måske ville jeg ikke kunne sige det But perhaps I didn’t want to say it to you while you Jeg rejste mig ligeså snart musikken var færdig. I got up as soon as the music was finished. While til dig, mens du var der. Måske ville din fysiske were there. Perhaps your physical presence would Mens folk klappede løb jeg ud. Undskyld, må jeg people were clapping I ran out. Sorry, can I get tilstedeværelse afsløre hulheden i mine ord. expose the hollowness of my words. Things are komme forbi, sagde jeg, undskyld må jeg komme past, I said, sorry, can I get past. And then finally I Tingene falder mere og mere på plads. Lægger sig falling more and more into place. Settling into fine forbi, og så endelig var jeg ude i den tomme forhal. was out in the empty foyer. I ran out on the street. i fine små rækker, – eller cirkler måske snarere. Jeg small rows – or perhaps rather circles. I am in a Jeg løb ud på gaden. befinder mig i en form for labyrint, hvor udgangen kind of maze where the exit keeps moving farther hele tiden flytter sig længere væk. Giver det nogen away. Does that make sense? A maze whose solu- MANDEN THE MAN mening? En labyrint, hvis løsning er at man ikke kan tion is that you can’t go farther, can’t get out. Lyden af mine skridt var som pistolskud. The sound of my steps was like gunshots. komme videre, ikke kan komme ud.

KVINDEN THE WOMAN KVINDEN THE WOMAN Der var helt stille ude på gaden. It was very quiet out on the street. Jeg frygtede at du ville ringe til mig efter koncerten. I was afraid you would call me after the concert. Jeg frygtede det, fordi jeg ved at jeg aldrig vil høre I was afraid because I know I’ll never hear your 32 33 din stemme igen. Ikke fordi jeg tror jeg ville kunne voice again. Not because I think I could get you to KOR XIV CHOIR XIV få dig til at ændre din beslutning. Eller fordi jeg ville change your decision. Or because I needed com- Jeg går altid ind til min datter og kysser hende god- I always go in to my daughter and kiss her good- trøstes. Men fordi du er det eneste menneske, der forting. But because you are the only person who nat. Det er dumt, for nogen gange vågner hun og night. It’s stupid, for sometimes she wakes up and nogensinde har stukket en finger ind under min has ever stuck a finger in under my skin. I pinned det er det sidste der burde ske. Så spørger hun mig, that’s the last thing that should happen. Then she hud. Jeg satte mit håb til den finger under huden. my hopes to that finger under the skin. hvor har du været? Hørt musik, svarer jeg. Hvorfor?, asks me: Where have you been? Listening to music, spørger hun. Det kan man ikke sige med ord, siger I reply. Why?, she asks. You can’t say it in words, I MANDEN THE MAN jeg. Så spørger hun, hvorfor skal man så høre det? say. Then she asks: Then why should you listen to it? Jeg lyder alt for rolig nu. Jeg kæmper desperat I sound far too calm now. I’m struggling desperately imod. Jeg forsøger at undslippe min egen logik, against it. I’m trying to escape from my own logic, KOR III CHOIR III men for at undslippe noget, må der være noget but to escape from something there has to be Jeg har stillet mad frem efter koncerten. Jeg spiser I have set out food after the concert. I always eat a andet. Og det kan jeg ikke sige med overbevisning. something else, and I can’t say that with conviction. altid lidt godt med mig selv, når jeg kommer hjem. little something by myself when I come home. Det sidste må du ikke tage som en afvisning af din You mustn’t take that as a reflection of your love. I kærlighed. Jeg forsvinder mere og mere. Og med am disappearing more and more. And with me the KOR XII CHOIR XII mig forsvinder også verden. Det er en trøst. world disappears too. That is a comfort. Om sommeren er det for farligt. Om vinteren er In the summer it’s too dangerous. In the winter it’s det bedre. Vi skiftes til at have overtøjet med ind. better. We take turns going in with a coat on. Two KVINDEN THE WOMAN To med frakker er for åbenlyst. Spillet går ud på at wearing coats is too obvious. The trick is to tease Og det er slutningen. And that is the end. pirre den anden lige indtil det går galt. Det er ikke the other one right up to when it goes wrong. We altid vi når hjem, vi må bare have hinanden. Musik- don’t always reach home, we just need to have each Følgende replikker er fordelt på de seksten medlem- The following lines are distributed among the ken er roden til helvedes god sex. other. The music is the root of damned good sex. mer af koret: sixteen members of the choir: KOR I CHOIR I KOR IX CHOIR IX Efter koncerten er der ikke noget så skønt, som After the concert there’s nothing as beautiful as Jeg skynder mig. Jeg vil ikke høre de andre. I’m in a hurry. I don’t want to hear the others. at gå hjem sammen. Nogen gange taler vi om going home together. Sometimes we talk about den, andre gange så er vi bare stille. Vi har hørt it, other times we are just quiet. We have heard KOR XIII CHOIR XIII for meget. too much. Da han var en lille dreng tog jeg ham altid med til When he was a little boy I always took him with me koncert. Han trængte til harmoni. Men små drenge to concerts. He needed harmony. But little boys KOR II CHOIR II bliver jo store og pludselig var jeg bare en gammel grow up, of course, and suddenly I was just an old Køreturen hjem er et mareridt. Det starter altid så The drive home is a nightmare. It always starts so tante. Der var en kvinde i aftes. Med en lille vel- aunt. There was a woman this evening. With a little godt. Vi taler om koncerten og hvad vi har hørt, well. We talk about the concert and what we have opdragen dreng. Jeg tænkte det er mig for længe well-behaved boy. I thought, that is me long ago. men ligeså snart vi svinger ud på motorvejen – og heard, but as soon as we turn out on to the motor- siden. Nu sidder jeg her og lægger pillerne op i Now I sit here and pile up the pills in small heaps. A det slår aldrig fejl – så begynder vi at skændes. way – and it never fails – then we start quarreling. små bunker. Hundrede må være nok til et gammelt hundred must be enough for an old body like me. I Næste morgen er det første han siger, jeg var The next morning the first thing he says is: All the liv som mig. Jeg ville gerne have hørt noget andet would like to have heard something else at the end. alligevel glad for at vi gik. same I’m glad we went. som det sidste.

34 35 KOR IV CHOIR IV KOR XI CHOIR XI Min mand forstår ikke, hvorfor jeg går til sådan My husband doesn’t understand why I go to that Hun er altid så kærlig, når jeg kommer hjem. She is always so loving when I come home. For her noget. Er det en måde at være finere end mig på, sort of thing. Is it a way of being fancier than me? Koncerten er for hende de tre timer, hvor hun kan the concert is the three hours when she can drink spørger han. Når jeg kommer hjem elsker vi altid. he asks. When I come home we always make love. drikke uforstyrret. Så lægger jeg hende i seng. Hun undisturbed. Then I put her to bed. She sleeps right Det er hans lille hævn. Musik elsker jeg faktisk. It’s his little act of revenge. In fact I love music. sover med det samme. Hvad andet kan man gøre away. What else can you do but listen to more end at lytte til mere musik? music? KOR V CHOIR V Stilheden i min lejlighed er altid uudholdelig bagef- The silence in my apartment is always unbearable KOR XV CHOIR XV ter. Pludselig er alting endnu mere stille. Hvis jeg en afterwards. Suddenly everything is even quieter. Nogen gange kan jeg ikke trænge ind i musikken. Sometimes I can’t get into the music. It has nothing dag opgiver ævred, så skal det være sådan en nat. If I just give up one day, It’ll be on a night like that. Den siger mig ikke noget. Jeg ved at det ikke er to say to me. I know that it isn’t the music. I have Efter en koncert. Efter musik, som er holdt op for et After a concert. After music that has stopped a few musikken. Jeg har hørt den før og den har rørt heard it before and it has touched me. But some- par timer siden. hours before. mig. Men nogen gange lader den mig kold. Så står times it leaves me cold. Then I stand outside and jeg udenfor og banker på mig selv. Jeg ved ikke, beat on myself. I don’t know why it’s so bad. I feel KOR VI CHOIR VI hvorfor det er så slemt. Jeg føler alting meningsløst. everything is meaningless. My life, my children, my Når jeg kommer hjem ser jeg lidt porno. Masturba- When I come home I watch a little porno. Mastur- Mit liv, mine børn, mit arbejde. Alting. Og det er jo work. Everything. And after all it’s only music. tion er den naturlige afslutning på musik. bation is the natural conclusion of music. bare musik.

KOR VII CHOIR VII KOR XVI CHOIR XVI Når jeg ser på de andre, tænker jeg hvorfor lytter When I look at the others, I think, why do they Det værste for mig, er ensomheden. Og det er The worst thing for me is the loneliness. And that’s de. Hvorfor kan man ikke se musikken på deres an- listen? Why can’t one see the music on their faces egentlig mærkeligt, fordi man sidder jo der sammen really strange, because you sit there with a lot of sigter, når de kommer ud? Hvorfor forsvinder den? when they come out? Why does it disappear? med en masse mennesker. Men det er noget med people. But it’s something about the way the music at musikken fortsætter inde i en, at man hører den continues inside you, how you hear it again and KOR VIII CHOIR VIII igen og så er man jo ikke mere sammen med nogen. then you’re no longer with anyone. Det er bedste er om efteråret. Når man kommer ud It’s best in the autumn. When you come out and og luften bider lidt og alting er så klart. Jeg vil blive there’s a nip in the air and everything is so clear. Orkestret går ud. Én efter én. Efterhånden er scenen The orchestra leave. One by one. Soon the stage is derude og vente på at nogen taler til mig igen. I want to stay out there and wait for someone to helt tom. Kun dirigenten står tilbage. quite empty. Only the conductor is left. speak to me again. VIII. VIII. KOR X CHOIR X MANDEN THE MAN Jeg ser altid på uret fem minutter inden koncerten I always look at the clock five minutes before the Hun går tit og ind og hører musik. Hun ser på She often goes in and listens to music. She looks slutter. Eller skal slutte efter hvad der står i pro- concert ends. Or is supposed to end according to sædet foran hende. Det sæde hvor han sad. Det at the seat in front of her. The seat where he sat. grammet. Jeg tænker, om femogtyve minutter er jeg what the programme says. I think: In twenty-five åndssvage sæde, hendes liv er blevet det ånds- That stupid seat, her life has become that stupid nede på gaden og lufter min hund. Det irriterer mig, minutes I’ll be down on the street walking my dog. It svage sæde foran hende. Hvor han engang sad og seat in front of her. Where he once sat and where a at jeg altid skal tænke det. Uanset hvad jeg hører. irritates me that I always have to think that. No mat- hvor en fremmed sidder nu. Hvor ingen sidder nu. stranger sits now. Where no one is sitting now. Jeg skiller mig sgu af med den hund. ter what I hear. I’ll damned well get rid of that dog.

36 37 KVINDEN THE WOMAN d Han skriver til hende. Et tåbeligt brev. Et forsøg He writes to her. A foolish letter. An attempt to Recorded at DR Koncerthuset on 9-12 September 2009 (Sounds Like You) and 5-7 June 2013 (Intermezzi) på at gøre forbrydelsen god igen efter at man har make up for the crime after it has been committed. Recording producer: Preben Iwan (Sounds Like You); Thore Brinkmann (Intermezzi) begået den. Han skriver til hende, at hun ikke skal He writes to her that she shouldn’t search for him. Sound engineer: Jan Oldrup lede efter ham. Du vil ikke finde mig, skriver han. You won’t find me, he writes. I am dead. She hears Editing, mix and mastering: Thore Brinkmann Jeg er død. Hun hører hans stemme. Men det er his voice. But it isn’t him she hears. He is not there. Executive producers: Meta Alm and Curt Kollavik Jensen ikke ham hun hører. Han er der ikke. Og lyden af And the sound of him is not there. And now I have ham er der ikke. Og nu har hun glemt den. Lyden forgotten it. The sound of him. His sound. She can ℗ & © 2015 Dacapo Records, Copenhagen af ham. Hans lyd. Hun kan ikke genkalde den for no longer recollect it. Liner notes: Karl Aage Rasmussen sig selv mere. English translation: James Manley Proofreader: Svend Ravnkilde MANDEN THE MAN Photo p. 5 © Lars Skaaning Sig noget, ville han sige til hende. Og han ville Say something, he would say to her, and he would Design: Denise Burt, www.elevator-design.dk spørge hende, hvad ville jeg høre, hvis jeg kunne ask her, what would I hear if I could see you, what Cover image: “Eye” by Luis Antonio Rodríguez Ochoa, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 se dig, hvad ville jeg kunne høre? Ville du forvitre would I be able to hear? Would you wither away Inside image: Denise Burt lydløst som en blomst? Ville du løbe skrigende soundlessly like a flower? Would you run screaming omkring i gaderne med din tavshed? around in the streets with your silence? Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen, www.ewh.dk Dacapo Records acknowledge, with gratitude, the financial support of Dansk Musikforlæggerforening (DMFF) KVINDEN THE WOMAN and Danish Composers’ Society’s Production Pool / KODA’s Fund for Social and Cultural Purposes Hvordan kan man huske en lyd der ikke mere er? How can one remember a sound that is no more? This release has been made in cooperation with DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation)

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Dacapo Records, Denmark’s national record label, was founded in 1986 with the purpose of releasing the best of Danish music past and present. The majority of our recordings are world premieres, and we are dedicated to producing music of the highest international standards. 38