JEDER (EVERYONE) (2016/2017) (with Uroš Rojko)
for amplified double bass clarinet solo, large orchestra, videos and samples
Concept, direction, composition: Iris ter Schiphorst & Uros Rojko
Duration: 24 min.
Composition commission Éclat-Festival
WP: 04.02.2018, Theatre House, T1, StuttgartSoloist: Theo Nabicht / SWR Symphony Orchestra / Conductor. Manuel Nawri
Concept, direction, composition: Iris ter Schiphorst & Uros Rojko
Camera + image design: Andreas Brehmer,
Programming and sound direction: Matthias Schneider-Hollek
Performance material available from Boosey & Hawkes
JEDER (2016/2017) mit Uros Rojko
für Solo-Kontrabassklarinette und Orchester; Eclat 2017
Orchestration
4(I,II=picc,III,IV=bfl).44(III,IV=bcl).2.2-4.4.2.2.2btrbn.1-timp.perc(4):marimba/gongs/SD/Crash cym/2spring dr/crot/tom-t(hi,med,lo)/BD/timbales(hi)/3cowbells(mute)/susp.cym(hi,med,lo)/tam-tam/vib/tpl.bl/windmachine-harp(2)-sample kbd-2pft-strings(12.12.10.8.8);
additionally required: 2 screens for film projection; software used: QLab
"JEDER" is a tribute in sound, words and images to the soloist Theo Nabicht, who is regarded as one of the best double bass clarinet players in the world.
The contrabass clarinet, almost similar to a 'small orchestra' in terms of its range and possibilities, is still not fully explored. Theo Nabicht is a border crosser who is dedicated to its complete discovery.
The music is based on recordings of improvisations by the soloist, some of which have been analysed for their spectrum and then transcribed for orchestra.
In this way, the orchestra becomes a kind of meta-contrabass clarinet at times. In addition, interview passages with Theo Nabicht are also included in this work, which deal with fundamental questions about music.
All image and sound recordings were made with the kind support of the ZKM Karlsruhe - Institute for Music and Acoustics in their studios.
see also: Zeit-Tabelle aller Ereignisse+Medien, Gesamtdramaturgie (Time table of all events+media, overall dramaturgy)
see also Thinking about music: Lydia Jeschke in conversation with Iris ter Schiphorst and Uros Rojko about "EVERYONE"
The work "JEDER" for soloist and orchestra is based on a concept whose title initially seems like a paradox: while the solo concerto traditionally celebrates the exclusive mastery of an individual, the term "JEDER" refers to the general. This contradiction between the highly specialised nature of soloist Theo Nabicht and the semantic breadth of the title is only gradually resolved towards the end of the work.
"JEDER" is the result of a long-term process and a deep, personal relationship. In countless conversations and shared meals over the years, the soloist became far more than a performer for the composers: he became a friend and - with his consent - the subject of an artistic investigation: Instead of limiting himself to his mere virtuosity, the exceptional musician Theo Nabicht is shown here in all his complexity. His physical presence, his facial expressions, his gestures and his prosody take centre stage.
The music is not limited to an accompanying function, but enters into a subtle, discursive counterpoint to the thoughts and statements of the soloist. The result is a complex dialogue between hearing and seeing, text and music, in which the orchestra not only mirrors the soloist's sentences, but also breaks them up semantically or comments on them pointedly.
In this way, the musician Theo Nabicht becomes approachable in a special way in "JEDER", while at the same time the work makes the intimate relationship between him and his extraordinary instrument tangible.
Reviews
Susanne Benda, Stuttgarter Nachrichten 5.2.2018
"...at the end of the festival, an immersion in something that sometimes took a back seat at Eclat this year: the fantastic world of absolute music."