Joseph Klein

Der Ohrenzeuge

( The Earwitness )

character study after Elias Canetti

for solo bass flute

(2001)

– for Helen Bledsoe –

duration: c . 5'

Performance Notes

senza misura sounds produced with mouth Ø directly over embouchure hole

pause/breath (very short/short) tongue ram (resulting pitch sounds a minor seventh lower) [FREEZE] freeze in place until next event buzzing lips into embouchure five beats ( = ) hole

slight fluctuations around residual tone, produced by blowing dynamic indicated (ad libitum) forcefully across embouchure hole with flute rolled away ! ! ! gradual change from one mode sucking into embouchure hole of play to another ( "slurping" sound )

quarter-tone higher/lower → indefinitely-pitched vocal/ pitch bend/portamento instrumental sounds (e.g., key → slaps, whispering)

→ foot stomp normally played pitch with

key-slap attack

flute angle : normal position ; rolled in ; rolled out vocalized (sung) pitch

fluttertongue glottal fry

multiphonic (fingering indicated in score) ingressive vocalization audible inhalation

harmonic (fundamental rapid alternation of inhaled/ indicated with small notehead) exhaled sound (unvoiced, panting)

accelerando/ritardando

n.v. s.v. o.v. f.v. vibrato continuum : no vibrato ; slow vibrato ; ordinary vibrato ; fast vibrato.

durational continuum in senza misura sections : arranged from shortest to longest (precise durations ad libitum).

fermata continuum : arranged from shortest to longest.

- i - • An instrument with a B foot is required.

• Accidentals apply only to the notes they immediately precede, with the exception of repeated pitches. • Each line of music in spatial notation is approximately 15 seconds in duration. • The "Mercurial" section (measures 10 through 50) should maintain an impetuous "stream- of-consciousness" feeling throughout. The fragmented quality of this section should be tempered by a driving intensity: there should be a constant forward motion, as if the chain of disparate elements were a single linear idea. This section consists of brief fragments from the following pieces for flute, alto flute, and bass flute (measure numbers are included for reference in the score):

• m. 10 : Betsy Jolas, Episode I (1964) — bass flute

• m. 12 : Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Interpolations (1959) — flute

• m. 15 : Luca Lombardi, Schattenspiel (1984) — bass flute

• m. 17 : Joji Yuasa, Terms of Temporal Detailing (1989) — bass flute

• mm. 19-20 : Paul Chihara, Willow, Willow (1968) — bass flute

• m. 21 : Mario Davidovsky, Synchronisms No. 1 (1963) — flute

• m. 23 : Edgard Varèse, Density 21.5 (1936), flute

• mm. 26-27 : Walter Hekster, Crescent Moon (1989) — bass flute

• m. 29 : Luciano Berio, Sequenza I (1958) — flute

• m. 32 : Giacinto Scelsi, Quays (1953) — alto flute

• m. 33 : Bernd Alois Zimmermann, tempus loquendi… (1963) — bass flute

• m. 35 : Karlheinz Stockhausen, Flautina (1995) — alto flute

• m. 36 : George Crumb, Lux aeterna (1971) — bass flute

• mm. 38-39 : Isang Yun, Etuden (1974) — multiple flutes

• mm.40-41 : Vincent Persichetti, Parable I (1966) — alto flute

• m. 43 : Heinz Holliger, (t)air(e) (1980/83) — flute

• m. 44 : Roger Reynolds, Ambages (1965) — flute

ª m. 45 : Charles Wuorinen, Flute Variations II (1968) — flute

• m. 47 : Claude Debussy, Syrinx (1913) — flute

- ii - The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is used for vocalizations, as well as to indicate mouth contour and tongue placement (the latter notated parenthetically in the score ); the following IPA symbols are used in the work:

[i] ee as in seed [p] p as in p at [ç] aw as in paw [k] c as in c ast [o] o as in float [f] f as in f ive [u] oo as in boot [s] s as in s it [m] m as in m an [S] sh as in shut [√] u as in mu d [C] ch as in German ich [t] t as in t op [h] h as in h at

Program Note

Der Ohrenzeuge (The Earwitness ) is the sixth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge : Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness : Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection of works, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and includes works for contrabass, violin, bass flute, ocarina, contrabassoon, glass harmonica, alto saxophone, trumpet, percussion, bass saxophone, guitar, and piccolo, among others. In Canetti's depiction of this character, the earwitness "comes, halts, huddles unnoticed in a corner, peers into a book or display, hears whatever is to be heard, and moves away untouched and absent." Accordingly, the work itself quotes fragments of several Twentieth-century works from the flute, alto, and bass flute repertoire. Der Ohrenzeuge was composed between September 2000 and January 2001 for flutist Helen Bledsoe. Who first performed the work on 25 February 2001 at the Posthoornkerk in Amsterdam.

- iii - Der Ohrenzeuge ( The Earwitness )

The earwitness makes no effort to look, but he hears all the better. He comes, halts, huddles unnoticed in a corner, peers into a book or display, hears whatever is to be heard, and moves away untouched and absent. One would think he was not there, for he is such an expert at vanishing. He is already somewhere else, he is already listening again, he knows all the places where there is something to be heard, stows it nicely away, and forgets nothing. He forgets nothing, one has to watch the earwitness when it is time for him to come out with everything. At such a time, he is another man, he is twice as large and four inches taller. How does he do it, does he have special high shoes for blurting things out? Could he possibly pad himself with pillows to make his words seem heavier and weightier? He does nothing else, he says it very precisely, some people wish they had held their tongues. All those modern gadgets are superfluous : his ear is better and more faithful than any gadget, nothing is erased, nothing is blocked, no matter how bad it is, lies, curses, four-letter words, all kinds of indecencies, invectives from remote and little- known languages, he accurately registers even things he does not understand and delivers them unaltered if people wish him to do so. The earwitness cannot be corrupted by anybody. When it comes to this useful gift, which he alone has, he would take no heed of wife, child, or brother. Whatever he has heard, he has heard, and even the Good Lord is helpless to change it. But he also has human sides, and just as others have their holidays, on which they rest from work, he sometimes, albeit seldom, claps blinders on his ears and refrains from storing up the hearable things. This happens quite simply, he makes himself noticeable, he looks people in the eye, the things they say in these circumstances are quite unimportant and do not suffice to spell their doom. When he has taken off his secret ears, he is a friendly person, everyone trusts him, everyone likes to have a drink with him, harmless phrases are exchanged. At such times, people have no inkling that they are speaking with the executioner himself. It is not to be believed how innocent people are when no one is eavesdropping.

— Elias Canetti, Der Ohrenzeuge : Fünfzig Charaktere (translated by Joachim Neugroschel)

English translation 1979 by The Seabury Press, Inc. text used by permission© of Carl Hauser Verlag, München.

- iv - Der Ohrenzeuge character study after Elias Canetti for solo bass flute Joseph Klein (2001) Furtive = c. 60 q 5 s s s s 4 s s Ø V 4 ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ Œ 4 ‰ ‰ Ó •L •L •L •L •L •L S S S S S S 3a (ord.) >s (ord.) ( ) flt. s flt. gœ nœ Ø œ ˙ #œ Uœ U œ #œæ æ nœ œ #œ (r ) V bœæ bœæ æ #œ æ æ æ b˙ œ Ò π Í 3b ( = c.60) q s s s s Ø V Ó 4 ‰ ‰ ‰ Œ 43 ‰ Œ Œ •L •L •L •L S S S S Ò Ò Ò ( s.v. ) Ò Ò Ò n.v. f.v. 6a o.v. U ( w ), , œ#œ ˙ œ Ø #œ œ bœ V b˙ œ œ bœ π F P Ò Ò Ò 6b > #œ [u]ñ Ò Ò Ò P [i] ñs ‚ nœ ( ) nO V œ b˙ œ ¿¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ Ò Ÿ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~( ) f P ñ 6c ( = c.60) (ord.) flt. (ord.) q s œ s s Ø œ s s œ V Ó 43 ‰ ‰ Œ œ #œ bœ • • bœ œ bs.v.˙ L L æ æ æ æ S S P Ò Ò Ò F

8b (o.v.) (w/ F key) [u]ñ Ò Ò PÒ [i] ñs U ( ) , n˙ yœ ‚ bœ O ( ) V bœ Ò ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ˙ #œ poco F ( Ÿ )~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2001 Joseph Klein (ASCAP). All rights reserved. P ñ © - 1 - ! ! !

! ! ! overblow 8c even , , , , , œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ-œ J V #œ #œ #œ #œ #œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ > . > . > . > . > . >- < - < - - P F F F F F halting, erratic (ord.) fleeting ^ , 8d #œ > œ #œ œbœ œnœ > œ> #œ œ œnœ bœ œ œ œ bœ #œ œ #œ nœ#œ #œ#œ œ#œ œ #œ > bœ bœ V #œ œnœ Ò œ œ#œ#œ #œ> œ œ œ> ± sub. f P ç Furtive 9 s nœ , bœ s U ( y ) nœ (g ) bœ ˙ œ ˙ œ Sœ #Sœ nœ 5 V bœ bœ Ò ∑ 4 π F flt. 7:5 IN gasping: [√] 10 Mercurial = c.90 æ q #œ- æ æœ œ - æ#œ s s s s œ S s s s ‚ s #œ bœ V 45 ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ s 43 ‰ ‰ 169 ‰ ≈ 89 •L •L •L •L •L •L •L •L 3 •L •L p urgentS S S S Sp S S S S strained S F [i o u ç...] 13 [tS(i)] #¥ Ÿ ( ) œ. #œ œ œ Ÿ ( ) s Ÿ > 9 s s s s 3 s s 9 œ bœ ( ) s ¿ 3 V 8 ‰ ‰ ‰ 8 ‰ 8 œ. œ bœ 8 •L •L •L •L •L •L 4:3œ. œ S S S S S F ß q. ! ! ! S F maniacal laughter: ! ! ! slurping: 16 (ord.) . [u] œ. bœ. œ • œ. . 3 s 7 . . . nœ s 2 V 8 8 œ bœ . bœ Ò 4 • 4:3 œ • L¿ poco L 7:8 ± L S ƒ F S f 5 s 19 œ. ! ! ! œ œ 6 [u] [i] œ nœ œ œ. #œ#œ bœ bœ œ S s #œ œ 2 œ bœ 9 ~ 5 nœ V 4 #œ 8 ~ ~ ~ 8 9:5 bœ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. ~ ~ ~ •L P ƒ ‚ ‚. ‚ p S F F - 2 -

12 . vigorous panting: [S ! ! ! s ! ! ! S] ! ! ! [m] (ord.) clearing 22 #œ. œ. œ throat: bœ>. œ. >> > , 71 2 s 11 œ>. 3 s 5 V 8 ≈ 8 8 ¿ 8 L¿. •L ¿ ¿ •L ± S ƒ ç S F high scream 5 (into instrument): 25 e (ord.) 3 (ord.) flt. , - flt. " s L‚ , 5 7 œ bœ. 4 9 V 8 .L . 8 #œ ˙ œ ‰ 4 #œ œ \ bœæ 8 molto . œ . [ç] æ œ œæ æposs. ¿œ #˙ œ f F ƒsub. F -

! ! ! ! ! ! explosive cackle: (ord.) flt. [i] ! ! ! [o] 5:3 [ç] ! ! ! [u] 28 œ IN #œ#œ œ#œ œ #œ œ nœ‚ ‚ · . œ œ ( ) 9 ¿ s 3 . 2 5 #œ æ ‰ V 8 4 æ æ æ 5 4 3:2 ‚ ‚. •L 5 æ æ ƒsub. sub.p poco S ƒ f sub.p ƒ ! 3 ! ! ! 31 [p s k s t s...] [C] 3 3 5 (ord.) e s 91 2 ¿. s œ s V 8 ≈ 8 #Sœ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œgœ œ œ 85 ¿ •L > P f S F p S molto ƒ 33 6:5 (ord.) 12 = 7 . e . #œ. œ s , . . . #œ s s . . . œ. #œ. #œ œ nœ 5 b¬ 3 L. 7 s œ bœ œ 9 V 8 ¬ b¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ b¬ 4 8 8 poss.¬ b¬ •L f S P ƒ molto

( ) [u]ñ ! ! ! [ç] ç[S t f k t p] ( ) Œ. 6 36 , [C(i)] ! ! ! bœo . œo . œo . œo . œo . œo . œo .b·.œo . œo . œo . 9 ( .) ( .) 5 ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿. 15 V 8 bœ bœ. bœ bœ. bœ bœ. bœ bœ. bœ bœ. Œ Œ 8 > > > ¿ ¿ 16 . . . . . > > >¿ 7:4 7:4 P πcalma subito

- 3 -

16:5 [(u)] G (ord.) C # C 38 B•• ••• # •B•• ••• # œ. n EbCn n Cn œ. g L , j . œ. 15 b˙g ... 9 7 s #œ. bœ. œ #œ. 4 V 16 g 16 #œg . œg . 8 ≈. œ. 4 g g •L P F g g molto P gasping: f S P ! ! ! [C] 41 3 3 cough: bœ. œ. > -¿ bœ. œ. 4 ˙ œbœ. œ 5 . s 9 s œ. œ. œ. s 4 V 4 œœ3bœ œbœ. 8(disruptive)¿ 8 ≈ ≈ 4 3 •L •L sub. 5:4 •L sub. espress. f ∏lontano ƒ P çsub. S S S (ord.) [C] [C] [C] [C] [√] - [C] n.v. o.v. IN 44 flt. œ œ œbœ nœ œ. #œ - œ - bœ. . . #œ ‚ bœ #œ ¿ -¿ ¿ œ . œ. bœ. -¿ -¿ s 4 æ æ - 6 œ. . 7 \ 2 V 4 æ æ æ 6 æ 8 8 4 f •L f •L f 5:4 •L f •L f •L f ƒ S S P S S S [C] ! ! ! ! ! ! [h] 47 s (non dim.) - œ œ ¿- ¿- ¿- ¿- ¿- ¿- 1 2 s s s s 2 œ bœ 6 114 ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ V 4 3 4 • • • • • • • • • • sub. L f L F L P L p L π L ∏ L L L L p S S S S S S incessantS S S S

49b 8"+ s s s s s s s s 4 Ø V ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ 4 [FREEZE]∑ •L •L •L •L •L •L •L •L S S S S S S S S >s CODA: #œ 51a bœ bœ ˙ , œ œ- #˙ , - œ œ Ø #Sœ bSœ S S S V œ ˙ (o.v.) ! ! ! f.v. œ œ œ suave p F P f Psub. >s 51b bœ #˙o , bœ o bœ œ œ ˙ œ œ (#œ) bœ (nœ) 03/24/18 n.v. ! ! ! o.v. n.v. [FREEZE]∑ V o.v. sub. bœ poco f P poco F p - 4 -