Coro di Spiriti

(2017) 5' / for choir SSATB and three percussionists

Commissioned for the CHORTROMMEL project initiated by Fritz Hauser. The world premiere took place at the Lucerne Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland. The performers were:

Basler Madrigalisten (Raphael Immoos, director)
contrapunkt chor (Abélia Nordmann, director)
Schlagzeugtrio Klick / Fritz Hauser, Lucas Niggli, Peter Conradin Zumthor

Lyrics

choir SSATB

3 female voices (soprano, mezzo soprano, alto)

3 percussionist (from the choir) each with two tuned logs (oak or beech) played with wooden hammers, and a pail of water

The text used is taken from the libretto by Alessandro Striggio (1573-1630) to Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), more specifically the Coro di Spiriti at the end third act.

CORO Di SPIRTI

Nulla impresa per huom si tenta in vano

nè contro a lui più sa natura armarse.

Ei de l’instabil piano

arò gl’ ondosi campi, e ’l seme sparse

di sue fatiche, ond’ aurea messe accolse.

Quinci, perché memoria

vivesse di sua gloria,

la Fama a dir di lui sua lingua sciolse:

ch’ei pose freno al mar con fragil legno

che sprezzò d’Austro e d’Aquilon lo sdegno.

CHORUS OF SPIRITS

No undertaking by man is tried in vain,
Nor can Nature further arm herself against him.
He has ploughed of the uneven fields
And scattered the seeds of his labour,

Whence he has gathered in golden harvests.

Wherefore, so that memory

May live in his glory,
Fame has loosened her tongue to speak of him
Who tamed the sea with fragile craft,
And who mocked the fury of Auster and Aquilo.

Translation: Hugh Ward-Perkins

CHOR DER GEISTER

Nichts unternimmt der Mensch vergebens

und die Natur steht ihm unbewaffnet gegenüber.

Auf unebenem Boden

pflügt er Felder mit Ackerfurchen und streut den Samen

seiner Arbeit, dann holt er goldene Ernte.

Daher, um die Erinnerung

an seinen Ruhm fortleben zu lassen,

löste die Fama, um von ihm zu erzählen, ihre Zunge:

dass er das Meer bezwang mit zerbrechlichem Boot,

dass er das Wüten von Auster und Aquilo verachtete.

Übersetzung: Andreas Odenkirchen

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