Gedicht

The piece is based on the poem Gedicht by Kurt Schwitters. Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948) is associated with the Dada movement, founded by members of the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich in 1916. Schwitters was responsible for the introduction of Dadaism in Hanover in 1923. His writing led him to painting, sculpture and architecture.

Gedicht b f bw fms bwre fmsbewe beweretä fmsbewetä p beweretäzä fmsbewetäzä p beweretäzäu fmsbeweretäzäu pege fmsbewetäzäu pegiff Qui-E

The suggestive combination of sounds and the form of each line and of the whole poem were used in the construction of the composition. The piece consists of three sections, which are named according to their focal point. The work completes a journey from the particular to the general.

The first section is entitled 'THE WORD' and it focuses on each separate word of the poem and its construction. This section concentrates on the rhythmical repetition of the letters and the resultant pulsation.

The second section, 'THE LINE', is the longest of the three. In this section, each poetic line has its corresponding duration. These periods form closed constructions and concentrate on the timbre and articulation of the letters. Each one is introduced by its corresponding 'word' as it is presented in the first part of the composition.

The third main section is entitled 'THE POEM'. It concentrates on the drama of desolation. At the end, there is no coherent conclusion, since every player finishes in their own time shouting a word from the poem, as if to make a symbol out of nothing.

As Dada marches it continuously destroys, not in extension but in itself. [...] Dada is a state of mind. That is why it transforms itself according to races and events. Dada applies itself to everything, and yet it is nothing, it is the point where the yes and the no and all the opposites meet [...]. Dada is a virgin microbe that penetrates with the insistence of air into all the spaces that reason has not been able to fill with words or conventions (Tristan Tzara, 1924: Lecture on Dada).