The Ursonate (or: Sonate in Urlauten)
The sonata consists of a written organization of phonetics, with notations
in German. No notes, tempi, or formal dynamics are given, allowing the
performer a bit of freedom.
Schwitters' own comments:
"The Sonata consists of four movements, of an overture and a finale, and
seventhly, of a cadenza in the fourth movement. The first movement is a rondo
with four main themes, designated as such in the text of the Sonata. You
yourself will certainly feel the rhythm, slack or strong, high or low, taut or
loose. To explain in detail the variations and compositions of the themes
would be tiresome in the end and detrimental to the pleasure of reading and
listening, and after all I'm not a professor."
"In the first movement I draw your attention to the word for word repeats of the
themes before each variation, to the explosive beginning of the first movement,
to the pure lyricism of the sung "Jüü-Kaa," to the military severity
of the rhythm of the quite masculine third theme next to the fourth theme which
is tremulous and mild as a lamb, and lastly to the accusing finale of the first
movement, with the question "tää?"..."
The fourth movement, long-running and quick, comes as a good exercise for the
reader's lungs, in particular because the endless repeats, if they are not to
seem too uniform, require the voice to be seriously raised most of the time.
In the finale I draw your attention to the deliberate return of the alphabet up
to a. You feel it coming and expect the a impatiently. But twice over it
stops painfully on the b..."
"I do no more than offer a possibility for a solo voice with maybe not much
imagination. I myself give a different cadenza each time and, since I recite it
entirely by heart, I thereby get the cadenza to produce a very lively effect,
forming a sharp contrast with the rest of the Sonata which is quite rigid.
There."
"The letters applied are to be pronounced as in German. A single vowel
sound is short... Letters, of course, give only a rather incomplete score
of the spoken sonata. As with any printed music, many interpretations are
possible. As with any other reading, correct reading requires the use of
imagination. The reader himself has to work seriously to becomew a genuine
reader. Thus, it is work rather than questions or mindless criticism which
will improve the reader's receptive capacities. The right of criticism is
reserved to those who have achieved a full understanding. Listening to the
sonata is better than reading it. This is why I like to perform my sonata
in public."
Here are excerpts from the four movements:
- Introduction and Rondo
- Largo
- Scherzo - Trio - Scherzo
- Presto - Denoument - Cadenza - Finale
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