für und mit ernst

If Ernst Jandl states that a poem is only effective when it is read aloud, the music of Christian Muthspiel can only increase its impact. Muthspiel brings to the fore the musical energies of Ernst Jandls’ poetry, in all its allusive richness. In response to the eternal debate – prima la musica, poi le parole – that is, which is more important, music or words, Christian Muthspiel simply says: prima la musica, prima le parole. For Muthspiel, when it comes to Ernst Jandls’ work, there’s no question of one taking precedence over the other.

This imaginary dialogue between the writer Jandl and the composer Muthspiel is an original sprach- und sprech concert: a composition as subtle as it is gripping. The extremely eloquent trombone, the agile wooden piccolo (counter-pointing the dark humour of the Blackbird poems), the artful, never brash, interpolated electronic loops and the delicate Schubert-like tone of the piano heard as though from a distance, all combine to create a suggestive world of sound, making Jandl’s words live amongst us. Jandl’s words live on in Christian Muthspiel; he becomes their medium. No one can escape the rhythm of his speech jives.

Guest performance