PETER ABLINGER - WEISS/WEISSLICH 11B
Eines der Prosastücke aus der Reihe "WEISS/WEISSLICH 11B",
in der englischen Fassung von Barbara Schoenberg.
Über Weiss/Weisslich 11B:
Seit 1994 entstehen Texte, für die ich mich jeweils 40 Minuten lang hinsetze, und schreibe, was ich höre: Die Klänge meiner unmittelbaren Umgebung, aufgeschrieben mit Tinte und in Großbuchstaben (wie schon im ersten Heft), in einem kontinuierlichen Schreibfluß, und unabhängig von der tatsächlichen Ereignisdichte. Das heißt, wenn mehr passiert, als die konstante Schreibgeschwindigkeit erfassen kann, wird diese zum Filter, sie zwingt zur Auswahl. Wenn weniger passiert, kommt es zu Wiederholungen oder zur Beschreibung des Schreibgeräusches. Ich möchte gern, daß diese Texte wie Musik wahrgenommen werden: man stellt sich den Klang vor, der gerade gelesen wird. Die Musik entsteht also im Kopf eines jeden Zuhörers. - Ich glaube, bei "richtiger" Musik ist das auch nicht anders.
- About Weiss/Weisslich 11B:
Since 1994 a series of scripts have been written for which I would sit for 40 minutes each and write down what I actually hear. I would love to think about this noise protocol as music: one imagines the sound which is actually read. The music arises in the head of each reader or listener. I think "real" music is not too different from that.
The pieces have been performed many times as reading pieces between other concert pieces. For a reading performance I suggest using a microphone to be able to speak almost voiceless and without expression (like "inner" reading, like reading not for an audience but only for oneself). Read slowly to give time to imagine the sounds that appear in the text. Reading one piece of the series might last about 9 minutes.
The text below is the only one with English translation. It has been tranlated by Barbara Schoenberg, the daughter in law of Arnold Schoenberg, and has additional suggestions for certain musical terms by Michael Pisaro and Leonhard Stein. For the other texts in German ask the publisher (see below).
(Notes edited by Andrew Smith)
WEISS / WEISSLICH 11B
(WHITE / WHITISH) 11B
English version
translated by Barbara Schoenberg,
with suggestions by Michael Pisaro and Leonhard Stein
THE UPWARDS RISING MAGPIE-LIKE CROAKING OF THE BLUE JAY THE NOISE FROM THE TIRES OF A PASSING VEHICLE A SLOW DOWNWARDS GLISSANDO OF A SINGLE-ENGINE PLANE AGAIN THE CROAKING RISING UPWARDS AND ANOTHER QUITE DIFFERENT BIRD'S VOICE WITH VARIED TRILLING AND CALLING A CAR HORN IN TWO PARTS AND THE CONTINUOUS BRIGHT ROAR OF TRAFFIC IN THE DISTANCE NEARLY EVEN STATIC BUT WITH DELICATE MODULATIONS BRIEF SEQUENCES OF HUMMINGBIRD IMPULSES LIKE WEAK DISCHARGES FROM ELECTRICAL WIRES AND ONCE AGAIN THE TRILLING AND CALLING WITH REPETITIONS REMINISCENT OF THRUSHES SOFT RUSTLING LIKE CLOTHES OR NYLON PANTS RUBBING AGAINST EACH OTHER AGAIN A CAR HONKING WITH TWO HORNS THIS TIME LOWER A THIN BUZZING APPROACHES WHICH COULD BE COMING FROM A SMALL-SIZED SCOOTER AND THE INCESSANT SUPERIMPOSITION OF SEVERAL SOUND LEVELS A PRIMER OF TRAFFIC NOISE A MIDDLEGROUND OF SINGLE VEHICLES PASSING CLOSE BY AND A MESH OF VARIOUS BIRDS' VOICES FROM DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND ONLY OCCASIONAL ADDITIONAL SOLITARY SOUNDS THE COUGH OF A WOMAN'S VOICE A SINGLE-ENGINE PLANE AS A DESCENDING AND NOW CONSTANT GROWLING BEHIND WHICH THE LIGHT BACKGROUND NOISE OF CAR TRAFFIC EMERGES A JET PLANE A BROADBAND DEEP NOISE OUT OF WHICH ANOTHER SNORING AIRPLANE MOTOR SLOWLY PEELS OFF WHICH AGAIN GIVES WAY TO AN APPROACHING AUTOMOBILE RELATIVELY CLOSE A BIRDCALL WITH SHORT SEQUENCES OF SINGLE PINCHED IMPULSES AND SUDDENLY A SIMULTANEOUS HUSHING OF THE VARIOUS BIRDS’ VOICES IN THE FOREGROUND A SHORT PAUSE WHICH ALLOWS THE SLIGHT MODULATIONS OF THE CONTINUOUS TRAFFIC NOISE TO COME FORWARD WITH THE RETURN OF THE BIRDS’ VOICES TWO BIRD CALLS FROM SOME GREATER DISTANCE WHICH PENETRATE NEVERTHELESS METALLIC MULTIPHONIC FROM BELOW CUTLERY CLANGING ON DISHES AND NOW QUITE CLOSE A REPEATED HONKING DISTANT THE TWO PART VOICE LEADING OF TWO AIRPLANE MOTORS ONE WITH A DEEP ALMOST CONSTANT PITCH AND THE OTHER RAPIDLY SLIDING DOWNWARD WHILE ITS TIMBRE IS MODULATED BY THE CLOUDS OR HILLS LYING BETWEEN FROM THE LEFT AT THE BACK AND FROM THE RIGHT CENTER SINGLE BIRDCALLS A THIRD AIRPLANE MOTOR THE BIRD CALLS NOW MAINTAINING AN ALMOST CONSTANT RHYTHM OVER A LONGER PERIOD A FINE HIGH-SOUNDING DOUBLE PULSE A SHORT PAUSE FOLLOWED BY TWO DEEPER SOUNDING NOISY IMPULSES SOMEWHAT LIKE VISIT -- SF SF OVER AND OVER VISIT -- SF SF FROM THE LEFT BELOW A SLIGHT COUGHING AND ADDED TO THIS THE WOODEN SLIDING OF A CHAIR MORE DISTANT AND IN FRONT DOWN BELOW THE RUSHING OF TRAFFIC A JET PLANE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT AND YET AGAIN THE RHYTHMICAL BIRD CALLS AND A QUITE DELICATE RUSTLING AND RUBBING OF PALM BRANCHES HIGH ABOVE A SLIGHT TREMBLING OF THE GLASS TABLE WHERE I SIT WRITING AGAIN THE SLIGHT COUGHING AND INTO THE RUSHING TRAFFIC ALMOST IMPERCEPTIBLY THE HUM OF AN AIRPLANE MOTOR FILTERS IN THE TWO BLENDED SOUNDS ARE AGAIN PAINTED OVER BY A JET PLANE WHICH FADING ALLOWS THE AIRPLANE MOTOR TO COME FORTH WHICH APPROACHES AND THEN GETS WEAKER AGAIN LETTING ITS PITCH LOWER QUITE SLOWLY IN BETWEEN A FEW CAR MOTORS APPROACHING SLOWLY IN WAVES ALMOST SINGING IN LOW GEAR FROM THE LEFT AT MID-DISTANCE A BIRD LIKE "PITZ" THEN AGAIN "PITZ" AND "PITZ PITZ" A SOLEMN POYPHONIC "CHORUS" OF SEVERAL AIRPLANES WHICH GLIDE BY IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND PITCHES THE NOISE OF A DESCENDING JET PLANE AND AT LEAST THREE SINGLE-ENGINE PLANES EMERGING AT DIFFERENT TIMES WITH SOME OF THEM WRAPPED AGAIN IMMEDIATELY BY THE AUTOMOBILE TRAFFIC AND THE MUCH MORE DELICATE RUSTLINGS OF THE PALMS ”TEE-TWEET” A BIRD CALLS FROM HIGH ABOVE IN THE TREETOP AND FROM FARTHER AWAY THE SEQUENCES OF IMPULSES COMING FROM THE HUMMINGBIRDS CAN BE HEARD AGAIN WHICH SOUND LIKE TINY ELECTRICAL DISCHARGES SOMETHING LIKE TS-TS AND TS-TS-TS-TS SOMEWHAT CLOSER AND FROM DOWN BELOW A SHORT METALLIC BIRD CALL AND IN THE DISTANCE A SLOW UP AND DOWN GLIDING HUM OF A MOTORBIKE AS FROM A SUCCESSION OF CURVES UNTIL IT SPEEDS UP AGAIN GETTING LOST AS ITS SOUND BECOMES HIGHER AND HIGHER THE MAGPIE-LIKE CALL OF THE BLUE JAY AGAIN QUITE CLOSE AND SCREECHY AND THE IMPULSES FROM THE HUMMINGBIRDS THE DESCENDING GLISSANDO OF A SINGLE-ENGINE PLANE A DULL HUMMING OF A MOTORCYCLE ALMOST BLUBBERING POSSIBLY FROM A HARLEY DAVIDSON AND CONTINUING VERY DELICATLY ALMOST IMPERCEPTIBLY THE RUSTLING OF THE PALMS AND EVEN LESS NOTICEABLY THAT OF SOME OTHER TREES IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY
Pacific Palisades, Villa Aurora, Terrace,
Sunday, October 7, 2001, 10:38 to 11:18
publisher:
ZEITVERTRIEB WIEN BERLIN
Bryan Eubanks, Gotzkowskystr. 15, D-10555 Berlin,
T: +49 / 176 / 47 39 29 97, zeitvertrieb@proton.me
> CD: Sven Åke Johansson and Peter Ablinger live at Christianskirche Hamburg
> Florian Hollerweger about Weiss/Weisslich 11B
see also:
Hörstücke / Listening Pieces
Weiss/Weisslich 11a, Geräuschheft, 1984-86
Freiluftkompositionen / En plain air composition
read also:
Window Piece: Seeing and Hearing the Music of Peter Ablinger
2010 by G. Douglas Barrett, as download-document: pdf (52 KB)