general information

composition date
1991
revisition date
1993
duration
17 min
editor
Boosey & Hawkes
Commission
Gaudeamus Foundation
Libretto (details, author)

Unsuk Chin, d'après Michael Ende, The Endless Story et Lewis Carroll, Alice through the Looking Glass.

type

Vocal music and instrument(s) (Solo voice and ensemble of 10 to 25 instruments)

detailed formation

Soloist
solo soprano

flute [*] (also piccolo, alto flute), oboe, clarinet [*] (also bass clarinet), percussionist, mandolin, harp [*], piano, violin [*], viola, double bass

information about the creation

date
September 2, 1991

Pays-Bas, Amserdam, Paradiso (version inachevée)

interpreters

le Nieuw Ensemble, direction : David Porcelijn.


date
September 8, 1993

Royaume-Uni, Londres, Queen Elizabeth Hall (version complète)

interpreters

le Premiere Ensemble, direction : George Benjamin.

observations

  • Ces instruments peuvent être accordés librement entre une quarte et une sixte d'un ton au dessus du diapason. Chacun peut être accordé différemment.

Enregitrement : Piia Komsi : soprano, Ensemble intercontemporain, direction : Kazushi Ono, cd Kairos, 0013062KAI.

Program note

Akrostichon Wortspiel se compose de sept scènes des contes de fées tirées de Die Unendliche Geschichte de Michael Ende et d’Alice through the Looking Glass de Lewis Carroll. Les textes choisis ont été travaillés de diverses manières : parfois les consonnes et les voyelles sont réunies au hasard, d’autres fois les mots sont lus à rebours pour ne retenir que leur sens symbolique.

Chacune des sept pièces se développe à partir d’un pôle tonal, mais leurs moyens d’expression sont très contrastés de l’un à l’autre. Sept états affectifs différents sont exprimés, tels qu’ils sont décrits dans les contes, allant du plus lumineux au plus grotesque.

L’accord de certains instruments de l’ensemble est réajusté, d’un quart de ton à un sixième de ton au-dessus du diapason normal, pour obtenir une microtonalité fine. La soprano solo fluctue d’un diapason à l’autre, selon celui qu’elle perçoit au moment où elle chante.

Unsuk Chin, 1993. Programme ManiFeste-2015 (Tr : J.S.).


Akrostichon-Wortspiel (Akrostic-Wordplay), Commissioned by the Gaudeamus Foundation, was composed in 1991 for the occasion of the 1991 Gaudeamus Prizewinner’s Concert and its first performance, in incomplete form, was given by the Nieuw Ensemble in Amsterdam conducted by David Porcelijn. The piece was completed two years later and this definitive version received its premiere at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 8 September 1993 with George Benjamin conducting the Premiere Ensemble.

Akrostichon-Wortspiel consists of seven scenes from the fairytales The Endless Story by Michael Ende and Alice through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. The selected texts have been worked upon in different ways: sometimes the consonants and vowels have been randomly joined together, other times the words have been read backwards so that the symbolic meaning alone remains.

Each of the seven pieces is constructed around a controlling pitch centre but in their means of expression they are fully differentiated from one another. Seven different situations of emotional states, as described in the fairytales, ranging from the bright to the grotesque are brought to expression.

The tunings of some of the ensemble instruments are adapted from one quarter to one sixth of a tone to achieve a fine microtonality. The solo soprano fluctuates between these two tuning systems, depending upon which she perceives at any time.



Unsuk Chin, 1993.

Part titles

  • I. Hide and Seek ;

  • II. The Puzzle of the Three Magic Gates ;

  • III. The Rules of the Game - sdrawkcab emiT ;

  • IV. Four Seasons in Five Verses ;

  • V. Domifare S ;

  • VI. The Game of Chance ;

  • VII. From the Old Time.


recordings

Go to the media page

complete.mp3

Composed by Unsuk Chin , concert on July 2, 2015


similar works


This entry is encyclopaedic in nature and does not reflect the collections of the Ircam media library. Please refer to the "scores" entries.


Do you notice a mistake?

IRCAM

1, place Igor-Stravinsky
75004 Paris
+33 1 44 78 48 43

opening times

Monday through Friday 9:30am-7pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday

subway access

Hôtel de Ville, Rambuteau, Châtelet, Les Halles

Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique

Copyright © 2022 Ircam. All rights reserved.