Studioforum

Woche 5-9 / 29.1.-4.3.07

Georg Hajdu
Der Sprung. Description of an opera / 1999 / 76:38
for narrator, 8 singers, 3 electronic instruments, 4 woodwinds, 6 brass, viola, cello, 2 percussions, and jazz trio.

1. Prolog / 3:41
1st act
2. Ich kannte Sie, Herr Kollege / 4:00
3. Wir hatten immer ein gutes Verhältnis / 5:25
4. Heute habe ich beschlossen / 7:54
5. Die Waffe soll eine aus dem Mittelalter sein / 4:19
6. Intermezzo / 17:32
2nd act
7. Die Zuschauer versammelten sich / 8:11
8. Sie habe mich schon früher gekannt / 6:59
9. Eine andere Sprache sprechen / 8:20
10. Eine Grenze überschreiten / 6:12
11. Epilog / 4:01

Collaboration with Thomas Brasch (text) in San Francisco 1993/94
Form and harmonic structure of Der Sprung is based on a short sentence that Brasch spoke onto an answering machine.
Computer analysis revealed two distinct types of sonic material: phonetic and statistic. This had a far-reaching impact
on the composition of Der Sprung. Composition of text and music was achieved by the Sandwich method. The Sandwich
method refers to a type of interaction between writer and composer where ideas are exchanged in such manner that every step (layer)
in the creation is the prerequisite for a new layer. While in traditional operas, the librettist delivers the text to the
composer which he or she turns into a musical score (a two-layer process), at least six levels can be discerned in Der Sprung.
The six levels are as follows:
1. A written motto
2. The sampling of the motto
3. Frequency and temporal analysis of the sample
4. The formal plan derived from the analysis
5. The libretto derived from the formal plan
6. The score based on the libretto

"Eine Oper schreiben heißt: Keinen anderen Ausweg wissen."
("Writing an opera means: Having no other way out.")

Georg Hajdu, born in Göttingen, Germany in 1960, is among the first composers of his generation dedicated to the combination
of music, science and computer technology. After studies in Cologne and at the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies
(CNMAT), he received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. In 1996, following residencies at IRCAM and the ZKM, Karlsruhe, he co-founded
the ensemble WireWorks with his wife Jennifer Hymer a group specializing in the performance of electro-acoustic music. In 1999,
he produced his full-length opera Der Sprung. In May 2002, his Internet performance environment Quintet.net was employed in a
Munich Biennale opera performance. In addition to his compositions, which are characterized by a pluralistic attitude and have
earned him several international prizes, the IBM-prize of the Ensemble Modern among them, Georg Hajdu published articles on several
topics on the borderline of music and science. His areas of interest include multimedia, microtonality, algorithmic, interactive and
networked composition. Currently, Georg Hajdu is professor of multimedia composition at the Hamburg School of Music and Theater.
georghajdu

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