The Cruelty of Coldness: An interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern by Helmut Lachenmann

 

The Cruelty of Coldness: An interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern by Helmut Lachenmann

MUSI1562M Student I.D: 200328796 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MMus Musicology

School of Music, University of Leeds, January 2012

  ABSTRACT The relation between metaphorical and literal meaning seems strained by Western literature, leading to terms such as ‘coldness’ being limited to predominately signifying a reduction in temperature with little acknowledgement of the types of coldness that can occur from within a corporeal space. However, recent research conducted by Chen-Bo Zhong and Geoffrey J. Leonardelli has revealed that even though terms such as ‘icy stare’ are metaphorical, a correlation is evident between physiological symptoms relating to an awareness of a reduction in temperature and loneliness. The results of such research highlight how coldness can manifest itself within a corporeal space as well as in the external environment. Beauty and coldness are inextricably linked and despite this relation being acknowledged for millennia the terms are seemingly opposed by Western literature. The reworking of the term ‘beauty’ and the relation it has to coldness is fundamental to Helmut Lachenmann’s compositional ideology and technique yet little research has explored how Lachenmann represents this relation through sound. In order to explore and define the different types of coldness that can impinge on a corporeal space and the physiological symptoms each type of coldness can cause, a literary analysis of The Little Match Seller by Hans Christian Andersen will be conducted with specific reference being made to Madness in Civilization by Michel Foucault. Establishing how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation is has to coldness through sound will be explored by drawing on the literary analysis conducted on The Little Match-Seller and applying it to an interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (1988 -1996). This study aims to provide the foundations for enhancing knowledge of the fundamental themes at work in The Little Match-Seller, help liberate the term ‘coldness’ from predominately signifying a reduction in temperature or metaphor, understand how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness through sound, and ultimately provide the foundations to help bridge and enhance current Anglo-American literature on the composer.

 

I dedicate this research to all that have offered the most sincere care and support in order to help me reach the end of a year in which I have had to face many personal challenges. It is because of you that I have completed my MMus and for that I am extremely grateful.

  There are a number of people I would like to thank that without their dedication the completion of this dissertation would not have been possible:

Mr Graham Clarke, I am very grateful for you providing much needed advice and support with the greatest of spirit on the formalities of administrative tasks.

Dr Mic Spencer, as my supervisor your encouragement, support and advice has been invaluable to me and I have very much appreciated your mentoring.

Dr Martin Iddon, thank you for your time and commitment to helping me flourish. It is your dedication, knowledge and the confidence you provide me with when needed most that inspires me to dig deep and strive to produce the best work I can.

  CONTENTS     Chapter 1. Introduction…………..…………………………………………………………..1 2. Coldness……………………………………………………….............................5 3. Beauty…………………………............................................................................14 4. An interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (1988 -1996) by Helmut Lachenmann…………………………………..22 5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….50 Appendix one…………………………………………………………………….55 Appendix two…………………………………………………………………….56 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………..59      

  LIST OF FIGURES Figure

Page

2.1

Visual representation of the fundamental narrative themes at work in The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen.

6

2.2

A visual representation of the protagonist as a corporeal space in The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen being impinged by internal and external ‘coldness’ in the form of a semiotic square.

8

2.3

Visual representation of fundamental themes and attributes at work in The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen.

13

3.1

Conceptual Integration Network Model.

20

4.1

Visual representation of the fundamental narrative themes at work in Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern by Helmut Lachenmann.

23

4.2a-4.2c

The solo soprano parts in bars 5-7, 17-18 and 33-34 of scene 11 “Hauswand 1” in Das Mädchen.

26-27

4.3a-4.3d

The tubular bell part in bars 1 and 8 and the piano part in bar 27 and bar 30 of scene 11 of scene 11 “Hauswand 1” in Das Mädchen.

28-29

4.4

The string parts in bars 10-14 of scene 11 “Hauswand 1” in Das Mädchen.

30

4.5

The application of the Conceptual Integration Network model to scene 11 of Das Mädchen.

31

4.6

The solo soprano part in bars 95 – 97, the final bar of scene 11 “Hanswand 1” to the first sounding bar in scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” in Das Mädchen. Full orchestral parts in bars 143-153 of scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” in Das Mädchen.

32

The piano parts in bars 102-103, 106-107 and 119-120 of scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” in Das Mädchen.

34-35

4.7 4.8a-4.8c

33

4.9

The application of the Conceptual Integration Network model to scene 12 of Das Mädchen.

36

4.10

Full orchestral parts in bars 426-429 of scene 21 “Nimm mich mit” in Das Mädchen.

38

4.11a-4.11b

Harp parts in bars 427-428 and 431 of scene 21 “Nimm mich mit” in Das Mädchen.

39

  4.12

The application of the Conceptual Integration Network model to scene 21 of Das Mädchen.

40

4.13a-4.13c

Styrofoam parts in bars 163-165 in scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)”, bars 166-172 in scene 13 “Hauswand 2” and bar 1 in scene 1 “Auf der Straße” in Das Mädchen.

41-42

4.14a-4.14d

Solo soprano parts in bars 162-164, 166-170, 172-175 and 176-180 in scene 3 “Frier-Arie” in Das Mädchen.

43-44

4.15a-4.15c

Vocal part in bars 703-704, piano part in bars 656 – 659 and string parts in bars 701 – 707 in scene 24 “Epilog” in Das Mädchen.

45-46

4.16

The application of the Conceptual Integration Network model to scenes 1, 3, 12, 13 and 24 of Das Mädchen.

47

4.17

The inextricable relation beauty has to the surrounding ‘coldness’ of reality.

48

  Chapter One: Introduction The physiological symptoms of coldness seem limited in Western literature to those caused by a reduction in temperature that is external to a corporeal space. Dictionary definitions predominantly focus upon describing the term in relation to the environment or even metaphorical meaning with little acknowledgement of the types of coldness that can occur psychologically from within a corporeal space.1 However, recent research has shown that physical temperature and psychological perception strongly correlate in a literal as well as a metaphorical sense. Chen-Bo Zhong and Geoffrey J. Leonardelli provide empirical evidence to support the notion that physiological symptoms relating to coldness can be induced by loneliness. If thinking involves perceptual simulation of the senses, possibly including thermal perception, we expect that experiencing social rejection can induce an actual feeling of coldness because coldness perception often covaries with social exclusion. This association may be rooted in our early experience with caregivers as well as later interactions with general others. As an infant, being held closely by the caregiver produces warmth, whereas distance from the caregiver induces coldness. This basic exposure may produce our first understanding that social closeness equals warmth, whereas social distance equates coldness.2

Here a distinction is made between a coldness experienced from a reduction in environmental temperature, warmth from being held closely, and a coldness from being lonely by Zhong and Leonardelli. It seems physiological symptoms relating to the mental state of a corporeal space as well as the surrounding temperature can occur but they need to be explored further and ultimately defined. Therefore, this dissertation will aim to clarify what types of coldness can impinge on a corporeal space and what physiological symptoms each coldness can cause in order to liberate the term from predominately signifying just a reduction in external environmental temperature or metaphor. One other term arguably limited by Western society that has been under scrutiny from a philosophical and artistic perspective for millennia is ‘beauty’. Jennifer McMahon argues that beauty represents purely ‘the constructive, the rational                                                                                                                 1

Catherine Soanes, ed., The Pocket Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001) p.168. 2 http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/facbios/file/Cold%20and%20Lonely%20Psych%20Sci.pdf accessed on 3rd April 2011 through correspondence with Chen-Bo Zhong via e-mail.  

  and, in the context of our well-being, the good’.3 Dictionary definitions also favor opposing the meaning of beauty to any form of negative connotation.4 However, Helmut Lachenmann argues from a musical perspective that defining the term in such a way leads to the discarding of the inextricable relation beauty has to a somewhat harsh reality and therefore surrounding ‘coldness’. Beauty. It is the pillow, or the pin-cus[h]ion, of our species, which has never been able to desist from hating in the name of love, lying in the name of solicitude, killing in the name of life, spoiling in the name of saving, suppressing in the name of freedom, and acting foolishly in the name of responsibility.5

Understanding this reworking of the term ‘beauty’ by Lachenmann is the key to understanding his compositional ideology and technique. For instance, Ian Pace argues that the works of Lachenmann ‘can be considered ‘beautiful’ if one is prepared to accept Lachenmann’s rethinking of the nature of ‘the beautiful”.6 Although Lachenmann has been recognised as a highly important composer of his generation in his home country for some time and is rapidly gaining similar recognition from an Anglo-American perspective, little research has focused upon how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness in his compositions from an analytical and interpretive perspective. From the small body of Anglo-American literature that exists on Lachenmann and his works, focus tends to be primarily on his ideology or technique. Therefore, this dissertation will also aim to help bridge and enhance current Anglo-American literature on the composer by clarifying how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness through sound. In order to theorise what types of coldness can impinge on a corporeal space and what physiological symptoms each coldness can cause, chapter two will conduct a literary analysis of The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen.7 The chapter will focus on revealing the fundamental narrative themes at work in The Little Match-Seller and how the notion of temperature is a common characteristic of                                                                                                                 3

Jennifer A. McMahon, Aesthetics and Material Beauty: Aesthetics Naturalized (Oxon: Routledge, 2007) p. 171. 4 Soanes, ed., The Pocket Oxford English Dictionary p. 72. 5 Helmut Lachenmann, ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’, Tempo (new series), 135 (1980) p. 24. 6 Ian Pace, ‘Positive or Negative 1’, The Musical Times, vol. 139, 1859 (1998) p. 15. 7  Hans Christian Andersen, ed., Svend Larsen, ‘The Little Match-Seller’, Fairy Tales, vol. 1, trans. R. P. Keigwin (Denmark: Flensted, 1968) p. 380-385.  

  each theme. Furthermore, the chapter will highlight that each fundamental theme of The Little Match-Seller represents a different variant of coldness that is impinging on the protagonist. Each type of coldness and the physiological symptoms they can cause will be defined with specific reference being made to Madness and Civilization by Michel Foucault.8 By drawing upon Foucault’s exploration into melancholia, mania and hysteria, three types of coldness that can occur psychologically from within a corporeal space will be outlined along with environmental coldness and visually represented in the form of a semiotic square. This chapter will ultimately aim to provide the foundations for enhancing knowledge of the fundamental themes at work in The Little Match-Seller as well as help to liberate the term ‘coldness’ from predominately signifying just a reduction in external environmental temperature or metaphor. Lachenmann’s notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness will be explored in chapter three. Parallels evident between The Little Match-Seller and Lachenmann’s compositional ideology and technique will be drawn via an exploration into the composer’s article ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’ and an interview between the composer and David Ryan.9 The metaphorical resemblance that The Little Match-Seller has to Lachenmann’s notion of beauty will be highlighted. Furthermore, it will be argued that Lachenmann was fully aware of these parallels that prompted him to construct Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (1988 -1996).10 With specific reference being made to ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’ by Nicholas Cook, an analytical and interpretive procedure will be outlined that will be applied to specific scenes of Das Mädchen in chapter four.11 This chapter will ultimately aim to provide the foundations for understanding how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness through sound. A thorough interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen will be the main focus of chapter four. By comparing the narrative of The Little Match-Seller to the libretto of Das Mädchen an understanding of how Lachenmann maintains and distorts the                                                                                                                 8

Michel Foucault, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, trans. Richard Howard (Oxon: Routledge, 2001). 9 Lachenmann, ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’ p. 20-24 and David Ryan, ‘Composer in Interview: Helmut Lachenmann’, Tempo (new series), 210 (1999) p. 20-24. 10 Helmut Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (Stuttgart: Breitkopf and Härtel, 2001). 11  Nicholas Cook, ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’, Music Theory Spectrum, vol. 23, 2 (2001) p. 170195.  

  fundamental narrative themes evident in the traditional text will be unveiled. Specific scenes of Das Mädchen that draw upon text representing a fundamental narrative theme of The Little Match-Seller and therefore signify a type of coldness impinging on the protagonist will then be analysed and interpreted using the procedure outlined in chapter three. Once it is understood how Lachenmann represents the different types of coldness impinging on the protagonist(s) through sound an overall interpretation will distinguish how Das Mädchen resembles Lachenmann’s notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness in a wider philosophical context. This chapter will aim to show how Lachenmann represents different types of coldness through sound and ultimately provide the foundations to help bridge and enhance current Anglo-American literature on the composer via an interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen.

  Chapter Two: Coldness Between 1479 and 1518 Leonardo da Vinci documented how an internal fundamental dialectic can occur emotionally when one is faced with the unknown. I reached, after wandering a moment amongst the shady rocks, the entrance to a large cavern in front of which I stood for a moment, dumbfounded and knowing nothing of this wonder. Arching my back, placing my left hand on my knee and shading my lowered and closed eyelids with my right hand, I leant numerous times to one side and to the other seeking to distinguish something within: however the obscurity reigning inside made this impossible. Two feelings soon welled up inside of me, fear and desire: fear of the dark and threatening cave, desire to see if there were not some mystery within.12

Da Vinci unveils how ‘fear’ and ‘desire’ can govern how one may respond to a situation. In The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen, the protagonist seemingly suffers from the same ‘fear’ and ‘desire’ evident in da Vinci’s document and the actions the girl fulfills as a result of these feelings correlate with notions of coldness and warmth to form the impetus of the narrative.13 With specific reference being made to Michel Foucault’s Madness and Civilization this chapter will argue that the oscillation between coldness and warmth portrayed in The Little MatchSeller signifies changes in the protagonist’s mental state and therefore inner physical mechanics.14 First, parallels evident between The Little Match-Seller and Madness and Civilization will be outlined and situated within an overall philosophical context. Second, the inner physiological symptoms caused by varying mental state and exposure to harsh winter conditions will be explored in order to decipher what possible physical strain the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller seemingly endures. All in all, this chapter will correlate the oscillation between coldness and warmth portrayed in The Little Match-Seller with attributes relating to physiological symptoms caused by ‘madness’ and a cold winter climate to highlight how each                                                                                                                 12

Helmut Lachenmann, ‘Libretto’, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (Stuttgart: Kairos, 2002) p. 28. The Leonardo da Vinci extract is taken from his Codex Arundel, a collection of 283 pages drawn from fragmented manuscripts written between 1478 and 1518 that can be found in the British Museum in London. 13 Hans Christian Andersen, ed., Svend Larsen, ‘The Little Match-Seller’, Fairy Tales, vol. 1, trans. R. P. Keigwin (Denmark: Flensted, 1968) p. 380-385. 14 Michel Foucault, ‘Passion and Delirium’ and ‘Aspects of Madness’, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, trans. Richard Howard (Oxon: Routledge, 2001) p. 80-150.

  fundamental theme of the narrative represents a different variant of coldness impinging on the protagonist. The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen is perceived as a fairy tale, ‘a sweet, touching treasure of literature to be read aloud during a contemplative hour under the tree of lights, followed, perhaps, by coffee and cake’.15 There are, however, fundamental concepts at work in The Little Match Seller that may go unrecognized. Figure 2.1 summarizes how the narrative of The Little Match Seller is structured so the protagonist’s ‘fear’ and ‘desire’ is encompassed within a context of ‘environmental coldness’, which is outlined thoroughly in appendix one.

Figure 2.1: Visual representation of the fundamental narrative themes at work in The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen. Paragraph 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Environmental coldness  Fear Environmental coldness  Desire Fear  Desire  Environmental coldness Desire  Environmental coldness Desire Desire Fear and Desire  Transcendence Environmental coldness

The narrative structure of The Little Match-Seller suggests that the feelings of the protagonist and ‘coldness’ are separate entities. However appendix one highlights that Andersen also draws upon the metaphorical relations evident between feelings and temperature by aligning the protagonist’s ‘fear’ of reality with ‘snow’, the ‘dark’ and ‘cold’ and her ‘desire’ for comfort with ‘light’ and ‘flame’. Therefore, it can be argued that temperature is a concept that unifies the narrative structure fundamentally throughout. Like Andersen, Michel Foucault explores the relations between feelings and temperature in Madness and Civilization from a philosophical, metaphorical, psychological and physiological perspective.16 First, Foucault discusses how feelings                                                                                                                 15

Helmut Lachenmann, ‘Sounds are Natural Phenomena’, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, trans. BrainStorm (Stuttgart: Kairos, 2002) p. 39. 16 Michel Foucault, ‘Passion and Delirium’ and ‘Aspects of Madness’, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, trans. Richard Howard (Oxon: Routledge, 2001) p. 80-150.

  such as fear and desire cannot occur without ‘passion’.17 Second, Foucault outlines how different variants of ‘madness’ that can occur in a corporeal space are governed by fear and/or desire. For example, Foucault argues ‘Melancholia […] is always accompanied by sadness and fear; on the contrary, in the maniac we find audacity and fury’.18 Furthermore, Foucault implies hysteria occurs due to an overload of ‘fear’ and ‘desire’, for instance once the disease had taken precedence ‘one fell ill from too much feeling, one suffered from an excessive solidarity with all the beings around one’.19 Therefore, the type of ‘madness’ experienced by the corporeal space ultimately depends on how the ‘passion’ is triggered. Third, Foucault describes melancholia as ‘humid, heavy, and cold’ and ‘mania’ as ‘parched, dry, compounded of violence and fragility; a world which heat – unfelt but everywhere manifested – made arid, friable, and always ready to relax under the effect of a moist coolness’.20 Furthermore, with reference to Robert Whytt, Foucault describes hysteria as an ‘alternation of heat and cold or of heaviness and humidity’.21 Therefore, Foucault draws upon metaphorical relations evident between feelings and temperature to reinforce how each variant of ‘madness’ has specific characteristics. The apparent parallels between The Little Match-Seller and Madness and Civilization ultimately suggest that coldness impinges on the protagonist from more than just an environmental perspective. The protagonist as a corporeal space being impinged by internal and external coldness can be summarized in the form of a semiotic square as shown in figure 2.2. In order to understand what physiological symptoms each type of coldness outlined in figure 2.2 could possibly cause the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller to suffer from, the inner physiological symptoms caused by melancholia, mania, hysteria and environmental coldness will now be explored.

                                                                                                                17

Ibid. p. 82-84. Foucault argues, ‘Indeed, we must no longer try to situate passion in a causal succession, or halfway between the corporeal and the spiritual; passion indicates, at a new, deeper level, that the soul and the body are in a perpetual metaphorical relation in which qualities have no need to be communicated because they are already common to both; and in which phenomena of expression are not causes, quite simply because soul and body are always each other’s immediate expression. Passion is no longer exactly at the geometrical center of the body-and-soul complex; it is, a little short of that, at the point where their opposition is not yet given, in that region where both their unity and their distinction are established. But at this level, passion is no longer simply one of the causes – however powerful – of madness; rather it forms the basis for its very possibility’. It is the relation of Passion to ‘madness’ that is visually represented in figure 2.2. 18 Ibid. p. 119. 19 Ibid. p. 148. 20 Ibid. p. 122. 21 Ibid. p. 145.

  Figure 2.2: A visual representation of the protagonist as a corporeal space in The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen being impinged by internal and external ‘coldness’ in the form of a semiotic square.22 PASSION  

Fear

Desire Hysterical coldness

Melancholic coldness

Non-Desire

Manic coldness

Environmental coldness

Non-Fear

Relating inner physiological symptoms to different variants of ‘madness’ is central to Foucault’s discourse in Madness and Civilization and specific reference is made to the ‘tension and release, hardness and softness, rigidity and relaxation, congestion and dryness’ of muscle fibers and blood flow.23 An increase in muscle fiber tension is one symptom of melancholia that manipulates the internal physicality of the sufferer. With reference to Anne-Charles Lorry, Foucault acknowledges that the illness, Agitates the fibers which receive it; as a result tension increases in the other fibers, which become more rigid and at the same time susceptible to further vibration. But should the sensation become even stronger, then the tension increases to such a degree in the other fibers that they become incapable of vibrating; the state of rigidity is such that the flow of blood is stopped and the animal spirits immobilized. Melancholia has set in.24

                                                                                                                22

Raymond Monelle, ‘Semantics and Narrative Grammar’, Linguistics and Semiotics in Music (Chur: Harwood, 1992) p. 244-250. It is acknowledged by Monelle that the semiotic square was developed by Algirdas Greimas to theorize ‘a common structural level, far below the level of manifestation (that is, of actual story-telling) […] On the deepest level, signification is structured by the logical principles of contradiction, contrariety and implication’. Therefore, the square represents the fundamentals of a narrative that may not be apparent at first but nevertheless exist as a necessary foundation for the narrative text. 23 Foucault, ‘Passion and Delirium’ p. 82. 24 Ibid. ‘Aspects of Madness’ p. 117.

  Melancholia is portrayed as a disease that manifests itself physiologically via paralysing muscle fiber in contraction. However, it appears that the extent of muscle fiber paralysis due to melancholia is variable. For example, Foucault argues ‘in melancholia, the spirits are swept by an agitation, but a feeble agitation, without power or violence […] very soon their agitation languishes, their strength fails, and the movement stops’.25 Therefore, melancholia targets specific muscle fibers with a lightly fluctuating but detrimental disturbance leading to the manipulation of other muscle fibers and possible cessation of movement. Melancholia is also portrayed as an illness that influences blood flow. Foucault argues, It is this languishing flow, these choked vessels, this heavy, clogged blood that the heart labors to distribute throughout the organism, and which has difficulty penetrating into the very fine arterioles of the brain, where the circulation ought to be very rapid in order to maintain the movement of thought – it is all this distressing obstruction which explains melancholia.26

The manipulation of muscle fibers leads to blood flow being restricted and bodily organs being supplied insufficiently. Furthermore, the ‘choked vessels’ and ‘heavy, clogged blood’ cause congestion and puts strain on the heart leading to a disturbance of inner fundamental pulsations. Therefore, all in all, Foucault implies that the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller suffers from muscle fiber ‘tension’, ‘rigidity’ and ‘hardness’ and the ‘congestion’ of blood flow when in ‘fear’ of reality, which can all ultimately constitute as the predominant attributes relating to ‘melancholic coldness’. The oppositional relation between melancholia and mania is arguably analogous to an electric battery or a lava lamp. First there is a concentration of nervous power and of its fluid in a certain region of the system; only this sector is agitated, all the rest is in a state of sleep; this is the melancholia phase. But when it reaches a certain degree of intensity, this local charge suddenly expands into the entire system, which it agitates violently for a certain time, until its discharge is complete: this is the manic episode.27

                                                                                                                25

Ibid. p. 115. Ibid. p. 117. 27 Ibid. p. 127. Here Foucault discusses a variety of metaphors that have been used by academics in the past to describe the oppositional relation between melancholia and mania. This specific quotation is lifted from Foucault’s acknowledgement of a proposal made by Spengler, which suggests that the two illnesses are analogous to an electric battery. 26

  Situating melancholia and mania at opposite ends of an energy spectrum would suggest that the physiological symptoms they present with are also polarized. However, the physiological difference between each illness in relation to muscle fibers manifests solely in the extremity of tension. Foucault argues, Only a few fibers vibrate in the melancholic, those which correspond to the precise point of his delirium. On the contrary, the maniac vibrates to any and every stimulus; his delirium is universal […] as if the maniac had accumulated a supplementary energy in the tension of his fibers.28

Therefore, where melancholia targets specific muscle fibers with a lightly fluctuating but detrimental disturbance, mania on the other hand targets all muscle fibers with rigor. The physiological difference between melancholia and mania in relation to blood flow is clear. Foucault argues, The essence of mania is desertic, sandy. Théophile Bonet, in his Sepulchretum anatomicum, declares that the brains of maniacs, insofar as he had been able to observe them, always seemed to be in a state of dryness, of hardness, and of friability. Later, Albrecht von Haller also found that the maniac’s brain was hard, dry, and brittle.29

Foucault reinforces how bodily organs are deprived of any blood flow to hydrate them when mania occurs, which consequently leads to internal physiology becoming weak and unable to function productively. Therefore, all in all, Foucault implies that the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller suffers from extreme muscle fiber ‘tension’, ‘hardness’ and ‘dryness’ due to very little blood flow when in ‘desire’ for comfort, which can all ultimately constitute as the predominant attributes relating to ‘manic coldness’. Polarizing melancholia and mania on the same spectrum implies that an amalgamation of the two illnesses can also occur. Foucault questions, ‘Do not acid vapors have the very properties of melancholia, whereas alcoholic vapors, always ready to burst into flame, suggest frenzy; and sulfurous vapors, agitated by violent and continuous movement, indicate mania’?30 Rather like a confluence of two streams, ‘frenzy’ signifies the intersection of two mental states and therefore a                                                                                                                 28

Ibid. p. 120. Ibid. p. 121. 30 Ibid. p. 116. 29

  condition that can cause a plethora of conflicting physiological symptoms. Foucault argues, There is probably no text that bears better witness to the qualitative instability of hysteria than George Cheyne’s book The English Malady: according to Cheyne, The disease maintains its unity only in an abstract manner; its symptoms are dispersed into different qualitative regions and attributed to mechanisms that belong to each of these regions into its own right. All symptoms of spasm, cramp, and convulsion derive from a pathology of heat symbolized by “harmful, bitter, or acrimonious vapors.” On the contrary, all psychological or organic signs of weakness – “depression, syncopes, inactivity of the mind, lethargic torpor, melancholia, and sadness” – manifest a condition of fibers which have become too humid or weak, doubtless under the effect of cold, viscous, thick humors that obstruct the glands and the vessels, serous and sanguine alike. As for paralyses, they signify both a chilling and an immobilization of the fibers, “an interruption of vibrations,” frozen so to speak in the general inertia of solids.31

Varying extremities of muscle fiber tension seem to be a fundamental inner physiological symptom relating to hysteria. Simultaneously muscle fibers are ‘humid’ or ‘weak’ yet cause ‘spasm, cramp, and convulsion’ for the sufferer. As Foucault argues, such unified physiological disturbance inevitably leads to ‘unconsciousness’.32 Although the entire corporeal space is overwhelmed with muscle fiber tension, the unification of such a physiological symptom is fractured by its fluctuating, chaotic traits. The instability signified by hysteria is reinforced by ‘paralyses’ temporarily discontinuing muscle fiber movement causing ‘universal resonance’.33 Furthermore, blood flow becomes ‘viscous’ and ‘thick’ but also ‘sanguine’, suggesting excessive, dominating congestion. As Foucault argues in conclusion, ‘Hysteria is indiscriminately mobile or immobile, fluid or dense, given to unstable vibrations or clogged by stagnant humors.’34 Therefore, all in all, Foucault implies that the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller suffers from varying degrees of muscle fiber ‘tension’, ‘release’, ‘hardness’, ‘softness’, ‘rigidity’ and ‘relaxation’ along with high levels of ‘congestion’ in blood flow when experiencing                                                                                                                 31

Ibid. p. 133. Ibid. p. 149. 33 Ibid. p. 147. Foucault argues, ‘ one hand, nervous sufferers are the most irritable, that is, have the most sensibility: tenuousness of fiber, delicacy of organism; but they also have an easily impressionable soul, an unquiet heart, too strong a sympathy for what happens around them. This sort of ‘universal resonance – simultaneously sensation and mobility – constitutes the first determination of the illness’. 34 Ibid. p. 134. 32

  a mixed state of ‘fear’ and ‘desire’, which can all ultimately constitute as the predominant attributes relating to ‘hysterical coldness’. It is important to acknowledge that inner physiological symptoms can occur due to alterations outside the corporeal space. Foucault argues, ‘qualities may be altered by accidences, circumstances, the conditions of life; so that a being who is dry and cold can become warm and humid, if his way of life inclines him to it.’35 One external factor that the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller is exposed to is a cold winter climate. At first Andersen describes the protagonist as suffering from being ‘terribly cold’, ‘bare feet that were simply blue’, and ‘shivering’. Otto Edholm highlights the impact that low temperature can have on muscle fibers.

Shivering consists of an uncoordinated pattern of activity in which groups of muscle fibers within a muscle contract and relax out of phase with each other. There is no purposeful movement […] Shivering characteristically is in bursts, and cannot be sustained at a maximum level for long.36

As an automated response to cold, muscle fibers shudder at random to generate heat. Furthermore, the fluctuation in muscle fiber tension is intermittent and characterized by short, high energy ‘bursts’ that fracture continuity. The final paragraph of The Little Match-Seller outlines how the protagonist is ‘frozen to death’ and therefore the fatal consequence that exposure to a cold winter climate can lead to. As argued by Evan Lloyd, one physiological symptom of hypothermia is that ‘muscles and joints are still and simulate rigor mortis’.37 As core body temperature declines so does muscle fiber movement to the point that there is complete cessation. Furthermore in relation to hypothermia, Lloyd highlights how ‘respiration is difficult to register’, ‘the peripheral pulse is impossible to feel’, ‘blood pressure is impossible to measure’ and ‘heart sounds are inaudible’.38 In response to such severe circumstances, vasoconstriction occurs causing restriction in blood flow and sporadic congestion. Therefore, all in all, Andersen implies that the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller suffers from an increase in muscle fiber ‘tension’, ‘hardness’ and ‘rigidity’ along                                                                                                                 35

Ibid. p. 114. Otto. G., Edholm, ‘Temperature Regulation in Man’, Man – Hot and Cold (London: Edward Arnold, 1978) p. 43. 37 Evan. L., Lloyd, ‘Hypothermia’, Hypothermia and Cold Stress (London: Croom Helm, 1986) p. 51. 38 Ibid. 36

  with inadequate blood flow when exposed to a cold winter climate, which can all ultimately constitute as the predominant attributes relating to ‘environmental coldness’. To conclude, with specific reference being made to Foucault’s Madness and Civilization this chapter has argued that the oscillation between coldness and warmth portrayed in The Little Match-Seller signifies changes in the protagonist’s mental state and therefore inner physical mechanics.39 First, parallels evident between The Little Match-Seller and Madness and Civilization were outlined and situated within an overall philosophical context as summarized in figure 2.2. Second, the inner physiological symptoms caused by varying mental state and exposure to a cold winter climate were explored and the possible physical strain the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller endures was deciphered, as summarized in figure 2.3. Figure 2.3: Visual representation of fundamental themes and attributes at work in The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen.

Fear/Cold



Melancholic coldness



Muscle fiber tension, rigidity and hardness along with congestion of blood flow.

Desire/Warm



Manic coldness



Extreme muscle fiber tension, hardness and dryness due to little blood flow.

Fear and Desire/Cold and Warm



Hysterical coldness



Varying degrees of muscle fiber tension, release, hardness, softness, rigidity and relaxation along with congestion of blood flow to a high level.

Non Fear and Desire/Non cold and Warm



Environmental coldness

 Gradual increase in muscle fiber tension, hardness and rigidity along with inadequate blood flow.

All in all, this chapter has correlated the oscillation between coldness and warmth portrayed in The Little Match-Seller with attributes relating to physiological symptoms caused by ‘madness’ and a cold winter climate to highlight how each fundamental theme of the narrative represents a different variant of coldness impinging on the protagonist.                                                                                                                 39

Andersen, ‘The Little Match-Seller’ p. 380-385 and Foucault, ‘Passion and Delirium’ and ‘Aspects of Madness’ p. 80-150.

  Chapter Three: Beauty The engulfing power that coldness can hold over beauty has been explored for millennia. Yuriko Saito argues, A major theme of Japanese aesthetics originating in the ancient court poetry, lamentation over aristocrats’ passing youth, beauty, love affairs, power, and wealth was invariably expressed by reference to the evanescent phenomena of nature: passing of season, rain, mist, snow, changing color of leaves, and falling cherry blossoms.40

Renowned for her exquisite beauty, Ono no Komachi provides one example of such poetry. The flowers withered, Their color faded away, While meaninglessly I spent my days in the world And the long rains were falling.41

The types of coldness impinging on Komachi and the natural environment in the poem recall the types of coldness impinging on the protagonist and her surroundings in The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen as outlined in chapter two. Yet typically Western culture does not acknowledge beauty as a concept that is reliant on being constantly inflicted upon by different types of coldness. For example, Jennifer McMahon argues that beauty represents purely ‘the constructive, the rational and, in the context of our well-being, the good’.42 Western culture typically opposes beauty to any type of imperfection and fails to recognize the notion is naturally exposed to the process of ageing.43 This chapter will address the Westernized fixated notion of beauty with specific reference being made to Helmut Lachenmann. First, it will be argued that liberating beauty from Western convention is central to Lachenmann’s compositional ideology. Second, it will be discussed how Lachenmann applies his notion of beauty to his compositional technique via the process of ‘defamiliarization’. Third, it will be acknowledged that Lachenmann                                                                                                                 40

Yuriko Saito, ‘Everyday Aesthetic Qualities and Transience’, Everyday Aesethetics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) p. 184-185. 41 Ibid. p. 185. 42 Jennifer A. McMahon, Aesthetics and Material Beauty: Aesthetics Naturalized (Oxon: Routledge, 2007) p. 171. 43 Saito, ‘Everyday Aesthetic Qualities and Transience’ p. 149-204.  

  seemingly recognized the philosophical and physiological parallels evident between the narrative of The Little Match-Seller and his own compositional ideology and technique given the construction of his own large scale composition, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (1988 -1996).44 Fourth, an analytical and interpretive procedure will be outlined with specific reference being made to ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’ by Nicholas Cook, which will be applied to sections of Das Mädchen in chapter four in order to explore how the music signifies the internal and external coldness impinging on the protagonist(s) as a corporeal space and therefore the generic, intricate relation coldness has to beauty when viewed in a wider philosophical context.45 All in all, this chapter will aim to provide the foundations for understanding how Lachenmann represents different types of coldness impinging on beauty through sound. In ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’ Helmut Lachenmann outlines the types of coldness that beauty is continuously exposed to from an artistic perspective.

Today the call for beauty is more suspect than ever – whether the concept is a pluralism embracing all conceivable types of hedonism, or else a reactionary hangover after false hopes and promises, or just academicism of whatever sort. Its proponents betray themselves over and over again as they cry out for ‘nature’, for tonality, for something positive, ‘constructive’, for ‘comprehensibility at last’ – and respond with loyal quotations from Bruckner, Mahler and Ravel. It is high time the concept of beauty be rescued from the speculations of corrupt spirits, and the cheap pretensions of avantgarde hedonists, sonority-chefs, exotic-meditationists and nostalgiamerchants. Once integrated into an overall theory of aesthetics and composition, the concept is no longer suitable for the prophets of popularity, the apostles of nature and tonality, and the fetishists of academicism and tradition. The mission of art lies neither in fleeing from, nor flirting with, the contradictions which mould the consciousness of our society, but in coming to grips with them and dialectically mastering them.46

                                                                                                                44

Helmut Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (Stuttgart: Breitkopf and Härtel, 2001). 45 Nicholas Cook, ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’, Music Theory Spectrum, vol. 23, 2 (2001) p. 170195. 46 Helmut Lachenmann, ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’, Tempo (new series), 135 (1980) p. 22.

  First, Lachenmann highlights how the seeming supporters of beauty hinder its natural growth and reinvention by attempting to frame and preserve the concept in tradition that no longer exists.47 Second, Lachenmann argues that beauty needs to be ‘rescued’ from the shackles of convention that Western civilization typically bind it to. Third, Lachenmann discusses how the liberation of beauty can occur at least artistically through recognizing, accepting and ‘mastering’ the situation from an objective point of view. In other words, the ‘fear’ and ‘desire’ that is fundamental to a corporeal space must be transcended in order for the ‘Beautiful’ to be experienced. As Lachenmann argues, ‘such a determination of the Beautiful is the only realistic and rational means of discriminating the Beautiful in traditional art’.48 Here parallels can be drawn between the narrative of The Little Match-Seller and Lachenmann’s compositional ideology. For instance, the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller experiences an array of different types of coldness until she transcends her corporeal space to find ultimate happiness in heaven with her grandmother. Similarly, Lachenmann outlines that The concept of the Beautiful has to pass through this purging of itself via the real contradictions of social expectations. Beauty. It is the pillow, or the pin-cus[h]ion, of our species, which has never been able to desist from hating in the name of love, lying in the name of solicitude, killing in the name of life, spoiling in the name of saving, suppressing in the name of freedom, and acting foolishly in the name of responsibility. The path to the ‘happy’ experience of the Beautiful leads through a conflict-ridden experience of it, whether repressed or accepted In other words, it asks of Man whether and to what extent he is prepared to live eye to eye with his contradiction, and – conscious of this contradiction – remain vigilant about what he is up to.49

The above parallels indicate that the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller represents beauty as a ‘pillow’ or a ‘pin-cushion’ being pricked by internal and external coldness, which can ultimately be recognized as a metaphor for beauty in a wider                                                                                                                 47

In ‘The Ageing of the New Music’ Theodor Adorno explores this very same notion but from a compositional perspective. Adorno argues, ‘[New] music has begun to show symptoms of false satisfaction. […] Whoever […] claims that the new art is as beautiful as the traditional one does it a real disservice; he praises in it what this music rejects so long as it unflinchingly follows its own impulse. The ageing of the New Music means nothing else than that this critical impulse is ebbing away. It is falling into contradiction with its own idea’. Therefore, it is clear Lachenmann continues to address the ongoing dilemma of just how vulnerable the notion of beauty is when viewed from an artistic perspective. Theodor W. Adorno, ‘The Ageing of the New Music’, Essays on Music: Selected, with introduction, commentary, and notes by Richard Leppert. New Translation by Susan H. Gillespie (London: University of California Press, 2002) p. 181. 48 Lachenmann, ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’ p. 23. 49  Ibid. p. 24.

  philosophical context. All in all, it is evident that beauty has been denied the opportunity to age naturally by the very community claiming to support and nourish it and that consequently liberating beauty from Western convention is central to Lachenmann’s compositional ideology.50 Where a corporeal space can present the symptoms of coldness impinging on beauty physiologically as in the case of The Little Match-Seller, Lachenmann seems to argue that the compositional palette can present the symptoms of coldness impinging on beauty musically. In practice, the composer who is concerned to express himself is obliged to take account of the ‘aesthetic apparatus’ – that is, the sum total of categories of musical perception as they have evolved throughout history to the present day; of the ‘instrumentarium’ which comes with them; of the techniques of playing and of notation; and last but not least, of the relevant institutions and markets in our society. […] This ‘aesthetic apparatus’ embodies the ruling aesthetic needs and norms. […] For the apparatus has been created by the nature of the demand for music. To that extent it mirrors social consciousness, with its value-concepts and taboos – and with its contradictions. It embodies Man’s need for beauty together with his flight from reality – his longing, and his fear. […] This conflict – fear of freedom and simultaneous longing for it – is his own as well, and consequently he cannot evade the crucial decision.51

Lachenmann acknowledges that the contemporary composer must confront and aim to transcend the ingrained ‘fear’ and ‘longing’ or ‘desire’ for musical beauty in order to liberate the concept from convention and experience the ‘Beautiful’ by acquiring knowledge of the entire ‘aesthetic apparatus’ available and being aware of the responsibility each compositional palette carries. It seems no coincidence then that Lachenmann’s compositional technique is governed by a deep concern for the liberation of sound. In an interview with David Ryan, Lachenmann argues, Sounds have to be broken up so that their innermost nucleus and vibration can be set free in space and time. That inevitability means alienation for those who cling to the established social code; but it means equally an opening-up and a liberation. And as such the process must justify itself in each and every composition.52

                                                                                                                50

It is here that parallels between the role that Lachenmann adopts as a composer and the role of the grandmother rescuing the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller can be drawn. 51 Lachenmann, ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’ p. 22-23. 52 David Ryan, ‘Composer in Interview: Helmut Lachenmann’, Tempo (new series), 210 (1999) p. 22.

  Analogous to physiologists investigating DNA within a cell structure, Lachenmann goes beyond the walls of convention to explore the essence of sound. As David Metzer argues, Lachenmann ‘alters a sound from the inside out. It begins by exposing the “anatomy” of a sound […] the basic core, like that of the scrape of a bow against a string or the flow of breath’.53 As with the extraction of DNA from a cell, intricate force must be used to puncture the defensive structure guarding the central essence. In relation to the wider concept of ‘instrumental musique concrète’, Lachenmann uses a similar intricate physical force and violence to turn familiar sound into the unfamiliar. Lachenmann argues, The idea of ‘instrumental musique concrete’ – i.e. sound as a message conveyed from its own mechanical origin, and so sound as experience of energy, marked the compositional material of my pieces between 1968 (Tem A) and 1976 (Accanto). It remains part of my thinking as a composer to this day. It signifies an extensive defamiliarization of instrumental technique: the musical sound may be bowed, pressed, beaten, torn, maybe choked, rubbed, perforated and so on. At the same time the new sound must satisfy the requirements of the old familiar concert-hall sound which, in this context, loses any familiarity and becomes (once again) freshly illuminated, even ‘unknown’. Such a perspective demands changes in compositional technique, so that the classical base-parameters, such as pitch, duration, timbre, volume, and their derivatives retain their significance only as subordinate aspects of the compositional category which deals with the manifestation of energy.54

The renewal of sound is born out of applying ‘defamiliarization’ to the mechanics of instrumental performing.55 Exploring new ways of playing an instrument can inevitably create ‘new’ sound and perception. As Metzer argues, ‘Lachenmann begins with musical sounds, or musical means of creating sounds, and “defamiliarizes” them’.56 All in all, Lachenmann uses his compositional palette as a

                                                                                                                53

David Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’, Musical Modernism at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009) p. 197. 54 Ryan, ‘Composer in Interview: Helmut Lachenmann’ p. 20-21. 55 The term ‘defamiliarization’ was coined by the Russian Formalist Victor Shklovsky as ‘ostranenie’ in his 1917 essay ‘Art as Technique’ with specific reference made to Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Victor Shklovsky, ‘Art as Technique’, Russian Formalist Criticism: Four essays, trans. by Lee T Lemon and Marion J. Reis (Lincoln: Nebraska, 1965). As a device, ‘defamiliarization’ can be applied to a variety of objects and events beyond literature as highlighted in R. H. Stacy, Defamiliarization in Language and Literature (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1977). For more information on ‘defamiliarization’ in relation to Lachenmann please see Piotr Grella-Możejko, ‘Helmut Lachenmann – Style, Sound, Text’, Contemporary Music Review, 24, 1 (2005) p. 57-75. 56 Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’ p. 197.

  tool to ultimately help shed any variant of artistic coldness from impinging on beauty that may present itself through sound. Like so many other artistic and literary works, The Little Match-Seller has seemingly become branded by convention. As Elias Bredsdorff remarks, the trend has typically been to label Andersen as ‘A nursery writer’, a harmless entertainer for the little ones – with the tacit implication that Andersen has nothing to give to the adults. For such is the situation in Britain to-day – and I believe also in America. Hans Christian Andersen’s stories and fairy tales have increasingly become the prey of unscrupulous publishers speculating in cheap and popular ‘nursery books’. […] In many cases, therefore, it is a distorted and mutilated Andersen we meet in these books.57

It is clear that Lachenmann became aware of the limitation placed upon The Little Match-Seller by Western society and the suppressed fundamental themes that Andersen draws upon to construct the narrative as a reflection of the complications and contradictions he as a composer has had to confront from a musical perspective. The construction of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (1988 -1996) provides sufficient evidence that Lachenmann felt compelled to represent such parallels through sound. In an interview with Klaus Zehlein and Hans Thomalla, Lachenmann discusses how Das Mädchen is an attempt to try and ‘open up this pleasant fairy tale, this <> to create space for the suppressible aspects hidden within’.58 However, exactly how Lachenmann enables such concealed signification to be accessible through music is still yet to be explored. It seems the small body of literature that exists on Lachenmann and his works focus primarily on either his compositional ideology or technique via purely descriptive or analytical research. Therefore, understanding how the notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness is represented in Das Mädchen will ultimately help bridge and enhance existing Anglo-American literature on the composer. Although visual aids are incorporated into Das Mädchen it is the orchestral score that seemingly provides the narrative. Lachenmann argues, ‘the direct soundevents must themselves become self-sufficient ‘theatre pieces of the natural world’:                                                                                                                 57

Hans Christian Andersen, ed., Svend Larsen, ‘Introduction’ by Elias Bredsdorff, Fairy Tales, vol. 1, trans. R. P. Keigwin (Denmark: Flensted, 1968) p. 10. 58 Helmut Lachenmann, ‘Sounds are Natural Phenomena’, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (Stuttgart: Kairos, 2002) p. 40. As with this and the following quotations, the arrows are part of the extracted texts.

  mobile, static, protean, transcendent sound-landscapes, and even more so: landscapes of sound creation’.59 Therefore, there is good reason to focus on analysing and interpreting solely the orchestral score when exploring how the notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness is represented through sound given Lachenmann seemingly reverses the traditional operatic hierarchy of where the narrative is predominately told.60 It is in ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’ by Nicholas Cook that a visual representation of how specific sound can signify specific meaning is provided. Figure 3.1: Conceptual Integration Network Model.61

Generic space

Text space

Music space

Blended space

The orchestral score of Das Mädchen is extremely large and an entire interpretive analysis of the work would not be suitable for the size of this research project. Inste1ad, specific scenes of Das Mädchen that mainly signify either ‘melancholic coldness’, ‘manic coldness’, ‘hysterical coldness’, or ‘environmental coldness’ via the libretto will be explored. Each of these scenes will represent the ‘generic space’ outlined in figure 3.1. The analysis of each scene will focus on exploring certain compositional techniques that may or may not be defamiliarized and the findings will represent the ‘music space’ outlined in figure 3.1. The fundamental narrative theme                                                                                                                 59

Ryan, ‘Composer in Interview: Helmut Lachenmann’ p. 24. As Metzer argues, ‘The idea of perception broadens to welcome the visual, a new mode of composing and listening that Lachenmann referred to with the subtitle of the piece: “Musik mit Bildern” (music with images). The theatrical surroundings also bring to the fore a relationship […] that between sound and the act of expression. […] Andersen’s story may be familiar, but Lachenmann’s presentation is anything but’. Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’ p. 199. 61 Cook, ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’, p. 184. 60

  of the scene and the physiological symptoms of each type of coldness that were deciphered in chapter two and seemingly signified through sound in Das Mädchen by certain compositional techniques situated in the ‘music space’, will represent the ‘text space’ outlined in figure 3.1. The amalgamation of the ‘text space’ and the ‘music space’ will unveil the type of coldness impinging on the protagonist(s) being signified in the orchestral score and this will represent the ‘blended space’ outlined in figure 3.1. Although only a small amount of musical material will be explored in comparison to the entire score available, an interpretive analysis with a methodology such as this will engage beyond what may at first be perceived and therefore hopefully discover how Lachenmann releases ‘the suppressible aspects hidden within’ The Little Match-Seller. As Cook argues, ‘the interpretation is articulated around not the sustained glare of the music, but rather its inner tension, its eruptive qualities’. 62 Therefore, such a two-pronged approach to Das Mädchen ultimately provides the foundations for understanding how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness through sound. To conclude, this chapter has addressed the Westernized fixated notation of beauty with specific reference being made to Helmut Lachenmann. First, the liberation of beauty from Western convention was argued as being central to Lachenmann’s compositional ideology with specific reference being made to ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’.63 Second, Lachenmann’s application of his understanding of beauty to his compositional technique using defamiliarization was discussed with specific reference to an interview conducted between the composer and David Ryan.64 Third, it was acknowledged that Lachenmann became aware of the parallels evident between The Little Match-Seller and his compositional experience and beliefs that led to the construction of Das Mädchen. Fourth, an analytical and interpretive procedure to be conducted on specific sections of Das Mädchen in chapter four was outlined with specific reference being made to ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’ by Nicholas Cook.65 All in all, this chapter has provided the foundations for understanding how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness through sound that will ultimately help bridge and enhance Anglo-American literature on the composer.                                                                                                                 62

Cook, ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’, p. 183. Lachenmann, ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’ p. 20-24. 64 Ryan, ‘Composer in Interview: Helmut Lachenmann’ p. 20-24. 65  Cook, ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’, p. 170-195.   63

  Chapter Four: An interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (1988 -1996) by Helmut Lachenmann Foucault outlines that the onset of the physiological suffering one may experience when faced with the unknown occurs as soon as ‘truth’ becomes distorted. Madness begins where the relation of man to truth is disturbed and darkened. It is in this relation, at the same time as in the destruction of this relation, that madness assumes its general meaning and its particular forms. […] According to the different forms of access to the truth, there will be different types of madness.66

It is the ambiguity behind the relation of ‘madness’ to ‘truth’ or rather ‘coldness’ to ‘beauty’ that forms the impetus behind this chapter. First, a structural comparison between the narrative of The Little Match-Seller and the libretto of Das Mädchen will be conducted in order to understand how Lachenmann unleashes the hidden fundamental themes of the ‘pleasant fairy tale’. Second, the compositional techniques that Lachenmann draws upon to signify the physiological symptoms that different types of coldness can cause a corporeal space through sound in Das Mädchen will be explored and applied to a Conceptual Integration Network model as outlined in chapter three. Third, it will be argued that the types of coldness impinging on the protagonist in Das Mädchen ultimately represents Lachenmann’s notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness in a wider philosophical context. All in all, this chapter will aim to show how Lachenmann represents different types of coldness through sound and ultimately help bridge and enhance current Anglo-American literature on the composer via an interpretive analysis of specific scenes in Das Mädchen. It is clearly stated that the libretto of Das Mädchen ‘does not follow a traditional narrative pattern. It interposes Hans Christian Andersen’s tale with texts by Gudrun Ensslin and Leonardo da Vinci’.67 Therefore, an overall literary structural comparison of The Little Match-Seller with the libretto of Das Mädchen will indicate where Lachenmann has distorted the original fundamental themes of ‘fear’ and/or ‘desire’ and ‘environmental coldness’ and ultimately the different types of coldness                                                                                                                 66

Michel Foucault, ‘Passion and Delirium’ Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, trans. Richard Howard (Oxon: Routledge, 2001) p. 98-99. 67 Helmut Lachenmann, ‘Libretto’, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (Stuttgart: Kairos, 2002) p. 25.

  impinging on the protagonist(s).68 Below figure 2.1 from chapter two and figure 4.1 summarize how the fundamental themes of The Little Match-Seller and the libretto of Das Mädchen are structured, which are thoroughly outlined in appendix one and two.

Figure 2.1: Visual representation of the fundamental narrative themes at work in The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen. Paragraph 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Environmental coldness  Fear Environmental coldness  Desire Fear  Desire  Environmental coldness Desire  Environmental coldness Desire Desire Fear and Desire  Transcendence Environmental coldness

Figure 4.1: Visual representation of the fundamental narrative themes at work in Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern by Helmut Lachenmann. Scene 1 – 6c 7-8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15a – 17 18 19 – 20b 21 22 23 24

Environmental coldness Fear Environmental coldness Desire Fear  Desire Desire Environmental coldness Desire  Environmental coldness Desire Fear and Desire Desire Fear and Desire Transcendence Cheerful coldness? Environmental coldness

Figure 2.1 and 4.1 highlight that the structure of the fundamental narrative themes at work in The Little Match-Seller and the libretto of Das Mädchen appear to                                                                                                                 68

As will be discussed in this chapter, the role of the protagonist is evident in the role of the incorporation of texts by Ensslin and da Vinci and that the trio seemingly signify as one despite occurring in different circumstances.

  predominately correlate despite such implied narrative distortion. Metzer speculates one reason as to why Lachenmann incorporates texts by Ensslin and da Vinci into the libretto. [The] texts […] are necessary to introduce the two outsiders, Ensslin and Leonardo. Both are represented by excerpts from their writings. The excerpts along with the bits of prose from the original story supply Lachenmann with material to further his longstanding explorations of how to incorporate language into a musical work.69

Although Metzer acknowledges the incorporation of texts into Das Mädchen from a technical point of view, there are arguably more poignant reasons behind why Lachenmann chose to include texts specifically by Ensslin and da Vinci. Gudrun Ensslin wrote a letter in her Stammheim prison cell using some ugly, violent language, but in the end her words are of touching beauty – beautiful because they call a spade a spade – so that I do not only simply see the unleashed preparedness to use violence and her broken spirit, but also her love for the individual who breaks under the strictures of society. She herself is something like an extremely disfigured variant of my <>. Not only did she play with matches, she went beyond that and made use of violence thereby disfiguring her own humaneness. <>grace of an early death<<… So much for the litany, the first insert. 70

The parallels drawn between the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller and Ensslin by Lachenmann ultimately bridge the notion of different types of coldness impinging on beauty with reality. Part of the text by Ensslin mentioned in the above quotation by Lachenmann is incorporated into scene 15a and reads ‘Criminal, madman and suicide embody – this contradiction. They are annihilated by it. […] Their criminality, their madness, their death express the revolt of the destroyed against his destruction, not object, but man’.71 Here ‘criminality’ suggests mania, ‘madness’ suggests hysteria, and ‘suicide’ suggests melancholia, which ultimately highlights

                                                                                                                69

David Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’, Musical Modernism at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009) p. 206. 70 Lachenmann, ‘Sounds are Natural Phenomena’, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, p. 39-40 71 Ibid. ‘Libretto’ p. 27.

  that Lachenmann seemingly clarifies the internal types of coldness that can impinge on beauty in Das Mädchen via text by Ensslin. Lachenmann discusses the incorporation of the text by da Vinci with equal poignancy. I had long been familiar with the text by Leonardo da Vinci about the troubled heart of the seeker of knowledge, a state he compares to the natural force with which sulphur and rocks burst forth from a volcano. Metaphorically, this may allude to the description of his peregrination through the shadowy cliffs to the entrance of that dark cave, in front of which the wanderer, the <>, crouches down – just like the freezing girl in front of the cold house wall at night – and before the darkness of which he feels both: fear and yearning – fear of the menacing darkness, yearning, however, to see with his own eyes what wonderful things may lie hidden within.72

The parallels drawn between the protagonist in The Little Match-Seller and da Vinci ultimately brings the concept of how a fundamental dialectic can occur emotionally when one is faced with the unknown and therefore the fundamental thematic fluctuations present within the narrative of The Little Match-Seller to the surface of the libretto. The comparison of figure 2.1 and 4.1 indicate that the incorporation of the separable piece ,,… zwei Gefühle …”, Musik mit Leonardo in scene 18 is the only place that the structure of the fundamental narrative themes at work in The Little Match-Seller and the libretto of Das Mädchen differ. Here the underlying theme of ‘desire’ is interrupted in Das Mädchen by ‘fear’ and ‘desire’ being signified, which highlights that Lachenmann brings attention to the fundamental narrative themes at work in The Little Match-Seller that may go unrecognized via text by da Vinci. All in all, Lachenmann seems to maintain the traditional narrative structure of The Little Match-Seller in the libretto of Das Mädchen but significantly embellishes it with text by Ensslin and da Vinci in order to ultimately ‘open up this pleasant fairy tale, this <> to create space for the suppressible aspects hidden within’ and bridge the make believe with reality.73 Throughout Das Mädchen a plethora of sounds are drawn upon by Lachenmann and sculpted into large audible landscapes to reflect the narrative of the libretto. Metzer argues,                                                                                                                 72 73

Ibid. ‘Sounds are Natural Phenomena’ p. 40. Ibid.

  In some scenes, the sounds are suggestive but not so clearly representational. The opera opens with tableaux of cold, which reinforce the meteorological and social frigidity in which the girl is trapped (scenes 1-4). Cold is admittedly not the easiest condition to capture in music, although Baroque composers again found ways of doing so, as with Vivaldi’s “Winter” Lachenmann musters sounds unheard in the eighteenth century: high-pitched “toneless” clusters, the wisp of breath passing through a brass instrument, and bowed bells. The sounds sustain an atmosphere, but one that many listeners may not interpret as cold.74

Clarifying how certain sounds of Das Mädchen signify different types of coldness will ultimately help listeners hear the narrative of the libretto through the orchestra without the need for relying on any visual aid, which is seemingly what Lachenmann was keen to achieve. In scene 11 “Hauswand 1” the protaonist’s fears of going home and facing her father’s violence is portrayed by a number of compositional techniques in the musical material resembling the physiological symptoms of melancholia. Figure 4.2a – 4.2c: The solo soprano parts in bars 5-7, 17-18 and 33-34 of scene 11 “Hauswand 1” in Das Mädchen.75

A.

B.

                                                                                                                74

Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’, p. 204.

 Helmut Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (Stuttgart: Breitkopf and Härtel, 2001) p. 140, 142 and 146.   75

 

C.

Figure 4.2a shows that the solo sopranos swiftly move from stuttering the phonetic sound of “H[a]” towards fluttering. Although the two vocal parts seem to become slightly agitated, a sense of control and unity is maintained given the first solo soprano is echoed by the second solo soprano and the pitch and dynamic range of each voice are similar. Figure 4.2b shows how the agitation evident in figure 4.2a begins to intensify as the scene continues given the rhythm of the phonetic sound “N” in the first solo soprano part is disturbed with tuplets and the second solo soprano begins with fluttering. Furthermore, echoes of flutter tongue can be heard in the flute and piccolo part, which suggests that the agitation also begins to disperse as well as intensify. Figure 4.2c compromises of predominantly toneless stuttering and fluttering along with rhythmic disturbances and melodic inflections. The rise from C to A presents itself as fractured before succumbing to the same agitation evident in figures 4.2a and 4.2b except in figure 4.2c the dynamic level reaches forte. It is the compositional techniques evident in figures 4.2a – 4.2c that resemble the lightly fluctuating disturbance melancholia can cause to muscle fibers and the way such tension can trigger the agitation of other muscle fibers contained with a corporeal space. Figure 4.3a and 4.3b show that each strike of the tubular bell is instructed by ‘erstickt’ meaning choke or suffocate.

  Figure 4.3a and 4.3b: The tubular bell part in bars 1 and 8 of scene 11 “Hauswand 1” in Das Mädchen.76

A.

B.

Any form of reverberation is denied by physically suppressing the tubular bell resonance and it is clear that this compositional technique of dampening is applied to other instrumental parts. Figure 4.3c and figure 4.3d: The piano part in bar 27 and bar 30 of scene 11 “Hauswand 1” in Das Mädchen.77

C.

                                                                                                                76

Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, p. 139-140.

 Ibid. p. 145.

77

 

D.

Figure 4.3c shows a semi-quaver Db with an open note head and a cross through the stem situated within a triplet in the piano part. This notation instructs the performer to dampen the string using cloth.78 Figure 4.3d shows a rising scale of rectangular notes heads signifying that the tuning pins of the piano should be played triple forte with a ‘Metallstab’ meaning metal stick. Lachenmann reduces the piano to short, sharp percussive sounds by denying any form of vibration to resonate. In figure 4.2a the toneless inhalation of “H[a]” in the final bar of the second solo soprano part is another example of Lachenmann applying the notion of choking to an instrument except in this instance it has to be self inflicted by the performer. It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.3a – 4.3d and figure 4.2a that resemble the cessation of muscle fiber movement melancholia can cause when the tension becomes excessive leading to rigidity and hardness in the corporeal space. Figure 4.4 highlights that the string parts contain the juxtaposition of the demand for sturdiness and accuracy from the performer with the simultaneous production of a thin and seemingly vulnerable sound quality.

                                                                                                                78

Helmut Lachenmann, ‘Instructions for Piano’ ,,… zwei Gefühle…’’ Musik mit Leonardo (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1992).

  Figure 4.4: The string parts in bars 10-14 of scene 11 “Hauswand 1” in Das Mädchen.79

At label A the solo violins are instructed to use flautando with the shifting of the bow from the fingerboard to the bridge. At label B, the double basses are instructed to glissando ‘poco a poco’, meaning little by little. At label C, the cellos are instructed to bow on the right side ‘of the rim of the bridge, vertically downward or upward’ with no pressing down on the bow. The semi circle with a square on top of it with a protruding horizontal line that seems to dominate the musical material in figure 4.4 instructs the string players to perform Toneless bowing on the wood of the bridge. The indication “toneless” is to be taken absolutely literally. All whistling or squeaking sounds are to be rigorously avoided. The bow is to be held with the fist; the index finger lies on the bridge of the bow stick. In order to more easily prevent the strings from sounding unintentionally, either in front or behind the bridge, it is recommended to bow at an angle and to mute the string. Bow pressure and speed of bowing must be appropriately controlled and balanced. Actually, a certain pressure with the bow can be carefully attempted in order to increase the intensity. The frequent “fff” indications should not mislead one to ignoring the intensive toneless bowing.80

                                                                                                                79

Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, p. 141.

 Lachenmann, ‘Instructions for Strings’ ,,… zwei Gefühle…’’ Musik mit Leonardo. Reference also applies to figure 4.4 labels A and C.   80

  It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.4 that resembles the weak, congested flow of blood that melancholia can cause and lead to the disturbance of inner fundamental pulsations within a corporeal space. The Conceptual Integration Network model will now be applied to the above analysis of scene 11. Figure 4.5: The application of the Conceptual Integration Network model to scene 11 of Das Mädchen. Generic space Scene 11 of Das Mädchen

Text space

Music space

Fear and Melancholia •

Mild muscle fiber tension.

•

Stuttering and fluttering of phonetic sound increasing in intensity and dispersing over time.

•

Muscle rigidity and hardness.

•

‘Ersticken’, short, sharp percussive sounds and inhalation.

•

Weak and congested blood flow.

•

Techniques requiring sturdiness and accuracy from the performer to create an array of “toneless” sounding sounds

Blended space Melancholic coldness

  To conclude, figure 4.5 provides a visual representation of how specific compositional techniques and sound evident in scene 11 of Das Mädchen represent the physiological symptoms of melancholia and therefore the ‘melancholic coldness’ impinging on the corporeal space of the protagonist. In the transitional phase between scene 11 “Hauswand 1” to scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” the protagonist’s transition from feeling fear to desire is portrayed.

Figure 4.6: The solo soprano part in bars 95 – 97, the final bar of scene 11 “Hauswand 1” to the first sounding bar in scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” in Das Mädchen.81

Figure 4.6 shows how scene 11 is unified with scene 12 by the first solo soprano calling “ich”. Metzer discusses the rarity of such poignant vocal assertiveness.

The only sounds we hear for a long time are those of the body, like shivering. […] There could be no more elemental form of the expressive act in opera than this, a single word proclaiming “I” sung to a speechlike tone on an approximate pitch. It should be noted that the girl never makes these cries in Andersen’s story. Lachenmann added them to his libretto. They not only serve as a way of giving the girl a vocal presence, as rudimentary as it is, but they also transform her from a freezing body to a person struggling to lay claim to her individuality in a world that views her as refuse on the street.82

                                                                                                                81 82

Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, p. 158. Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’ p. 210.

  It is the fact that Lachenmann places the cries of “ich” at the end of a scene representing melancholia and the start of a scene representing mania that enables the protagonist to be provided with a voice and identity that the surrounding society has continued to deny her and ultimately signify how a fluctuation in mental state that is beginning to conjure in the corporeal space is unified on the same spectrum, in a similar vein to how a change in energy can occur in a single battery or lava lamp. In scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” the protagonist’s desires for food and comfort is portrayed by a number of compositional techniques in the musical material resembling the physiological symptoms of mania. Figure 4.7: Full orchestral parts in bars 143-153 of scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” in Das Mädchen.83

                                                                                                                83

Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, p. 165.

  Figure 4.7 shows the orchestral texture at full capacity and how continuous oscillations occur within the musical material. Metzer argues ‘the sonority evolves through changes in density, tone colour, size, dynamics, internal agitation, and register. Lachenmann also alters the harmonic colour’.84 The percussion consist of an amalgamation of dynamics ranging from triple piano to triple forte, the woodwind alternate between varying degrees of piano and forte, the brass begin at piano and crescendo to forte before subsiding to piano with a few infiltrating forte, and the strings crescendo from double piano to double forte before subsiding to mezzo piano and then increasing to double forte for a second time. It is the continuous oscillations such as these that embellish a deeper motion in which the musical material is pulled back and forth. Metzer highlights how ‘The “consonant”, “warm” chords heard during the illusion of the glowing oven […] are not “symbolic”; rather they are part of an “acoustic muse-en-scène” of “harmonic vibrations” that the listener can “feel”’.85 It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.7 that resemble the extreme muscle fiber tension that mania can cause leading to the entire vibration of the corporeal space. Figure 4.8a – 4.8c shows that the piano part produces a variety of hard yet brittle sounds amongst the highly-strung orchestral texture in scene 12. Figure 4.8a and 4.8c: The piano parts in bars 102-103, 106-107 and 119-120 of scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” in Das Mädchen.86

A.

                                                                                                                84

Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’ p. 213.

 Ibid. p. 202. 86  Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, p. 159-160 and 162.   85

  B.

C.

Figure 4.8a shows short, double forte chromatic cluster chords situated in a high tessitura that contrast and perforate the sustained yet oscillating piano resonating orchestral body. Figure 4.8b shows arm length, triple forte cluster chords that perforate the sustained bass clef notes. Figure 4.8c shows piano cluster chords situated in a high tessitura that are immediately embellished by glissandi. It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.8a – 4.8c that resemble the lack of blood flow mania can cause leading to dryness, hardness and fragility in the corporeal space. The Conceptual Integration Network model will now be applied to the above analysis of scene 12.

  Figure 4.9: The application of the Conceptual Integration Network model to scene 12 of Das Mädchen.

Generic space Scene 12 of Das Mädchen

Text space

Music space

Desire and Mania •

Evidence of unification between melancholia and mania.

•

Cry of “ich” by solo soprano at the end of scene 11 and the beginning of scene 12.

•

Extreme muscle fiber tension

•

Full orchestra sustained yet oscillating in a variety of ways.

•

Lack of blood flow causing dryness, hardness and brutality in the corporeal space.

•

Perforating chord clusters and glissandi in piano parts

Blended space Melancholic coldness

  To conclude, figure 4.9 provides a visual representation of how specific compositional techniques and sound evident in scene 12 of Das Mädchen represent the physiological symptoms of mania and therefore the ‘manic coldness’ impinging on the corporeal space of the protagonist. In scene 21 “Nimm mich mit” the protagonist’s fears of being left alone by her grandmother and her desires to be taken to Heaven alongside her are portrayed by a number of compositional techniques in the musical material resembling the physiological symptoms of hysteria. Figure 4.10 shows how the orchestral texture contrasts between being sparse and at full capacity. Bars 426, 428 and 429 consist of quiet tremolo played in a high tessitura by the string parts creating a delicate shimmer of sound. Bar 427 and the first beat of 428 consist of forte staccato semiquavers played by the woodwind, brass and string parts in which the melodic contour of each orchestral section varies creating a sudden exertion of energetic sound. Furthermore, the perforating arm length cluster chords evident in figure 4.8b also occur much more widely distributed in the piano part of bars 427-428. It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.10 that resemble the extreme fluctuations of muscle fiber agitation that hysteria can cause within a corporeal space. Figure 4.10 label A shows how the solo soprano calls “ich” at the end of bar 427. The rare poignant vocal assertiveness evident in figure 4.6 makes another appearance here with clarity given the “i” of “ich” is a speech tone and the “ch” of “ich” is a short but sustained breath tone. Furthermore, Lachenmann places the cry of “ich” in between the end of orchestral sparseness and the beginning of full orchestral capacity, in a similar vein to how the cries of “ich” in figure 4.6 are placed at the end of a scene representing melancholia and the start of a scene representing mania. It is the incorporation of “ich” evident in figure 4.10 that resembles how an amalgamation of melancholic and manic physiological symptoms can be caused by hysteria within a corporeal space.  

  Figure 4.10: Full orchestral parts in bars 426-429 of scene 21 “Nimm mich mit” in Das Mädchen.87

                                                                                                                87

Ibid. p. L88

  Figure 4.10 label B shows harp glissandi that occur in bars 427-428 and a close up of this material can be found below in figure 4.11a. Figure 4.11a – 4.11b: Harp parts in bars 427-428 and 431 of scene 21 “Nimm mich mit” in Das Mädchen.88

A.

B.

Figure 4.11b shows how the harpist is instructed to glissandi ‘mit Plektrum’ meaning with plectrum and then mute ‘all the strings by loosely laying the arm or hand over them’.89 It seems increasing emphasis is placed on the metallic sound quality the harp can create, which is then amalgamated with the concept of ‘ersticken’ as the scene progresses. In bars 412, 417, 432 and 437 in scene 21 there are also full orchestral pauses that bring the fluctuating orchestral body to a standstill where the sound seemingly becomes temporary suspended in resonance, which reinforces how Lachenmann applies the concept of ‘ersticken’ to the structure of the musical material as well as individual instruments. It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.11a – 4.11b that resemble the juxtaposition of frail, highly energized and hard muscle fibers along with the impermanent paralyses that hysteria can cause within a corporeal space. The Conceptual Integration Network model will now be applied to the above analysis of scene 21.                                                                                                                 88 89

Ibid. Ibid. p. L88-L89.

  Figure 4.12: The application of the Conceptual Integration Network model to scene 21 of Das Mädchen. Generic space Scene 21 of Das Mädchen

Text space

Music space

Fear + Desire and Hysteria •

Variable extremities in muscle fiber tension.

•

Fluctuating and oscillating orchestral traits.

•

Evidence of unification of melancholia with mania.

•

Cry of “ich” by solo soprano between the end of bar 427 and beginning of bar 428.

•

The juxtaposition of weak and highly energized, hard muscle fibers along with intermittent paralyses.

•

Emphasis placed on the metallic quality of the harp along with the concept of ‘ersticken’ being applied to the instrument and the orchestral structure of scene 21 via the incorporation of pauses into bars 412, 417, 432 and 437.

Blended space Hysterical coldness

  To conclude, figure 4.12 provides a visual representation of how specific compositional techniques and sound evident in scene 21 of Das Mädchen represent the physiological symptoms of hysteria and therefore the ‘hysterical coldness’ impinging on the corporeal space of the protagonist. The cold winter climate causing the protagonist to suffer from external coldness is portrayed by a number of compositional techniques in the musical material throughout Das Mädchen. Figure 4.13a – 4:13c: Styrofoam parts in bars 163-165 in scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)”, bars 166-172 in scene 13 “Hauswand 2” and bar 1 in scene 1 “Auf der Straße” in Das Mädchen.90

A.

Figure 4.13a and 4.13b show how Lachenmann bridges the transition from scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen)” to scene 13 “Hauswand 2” by instructing the performers to rub Styrofoam, a type of polystyrene in what becomes a circular movement. Metzer argues,

It is a unique sound, one created by an everyday object handled in a not-so-everyday manner. It is also an ambiguous sound, assured to inspire as many different images as there are listeners. […] It plays a particular dramatic role in the opera. The sound follows the orchestral luminescence suggesting the girl’s illusion of a warm oven created when she lights one of her matches. When the match burns out (“erlosch”), she plunges back into the cold, a minute or so of just the Styrofoam noise. An enigmatic sound has been given a specific meaning.91

                                                                                                                90

Ibid. p. 167-168 and 1.

 Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’ p. 205.  

91

  B.

It is the dramatic contrast to the previous sustained yet oscillating full orchestral texture the rubbing of the Styrofoam creates that enables the contrast of flame and light to cold and dark in the narrative to be signified by the musical material. A similar sound creation is evident at the beginning of the opera. C.

  Figure 4.13c shows how the string parts play a sustained double piano Ab in a high tessitura for approximately between 30 and 60 seconds long that seemingly suspends the musical material in situ. It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.13a – 4.13c that ultimately resemble the still white landscapes created by a cold winter climate. Figure 4.14a – 4.14d shows that the solo soprano parts produce a variety of unstable sounds in scene 3 “Frier-Arie”. Figure 4.14a – 4.14d: solo soprano parts in bars 162-164, 166-170, 172-175 and 176180 in scene 3 “Frier-Arie” in Das Mädchen.92 A.

B.

C.

                                                                                                                92

Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, p. 34-37.

  D.

Here a plethora of sounds are used by Lachenmann to capture the automated response a human body activates when exposed to a low temperature. Metzer argues, Cold must be perceived, and above all sound must be presented as capable of conveying it and other images. We have to realize early that sound can claim the specific. To chill the opera house, Lachenmann goes beyond these suggestive sounds and relies on means more obvious and immediate than anything in the Baroque Imitation-Lehre. The singers in the orchestral pit make shivering and chattering noises and even rub their hands together. With these parts there can be no ambiguity. We now have a visible source producing the sounds of the image to be conveyed. Specific human sounds and gestures capture the specificity of cold.93

In order to begin the chilling process of the opera house Lachenmann distorts phonetic sounds with inhalation and exhalation, sustained breath tones, speech like tones, irregular short bursts of rhythm, and variations in dynamic levels in the solo soprano parts. It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.14a – 4.14d that resemble the stuttering, mumbling and chattering of shivering that a mild environmental coldness can cause to a corporeal space. Figure 4.15a shows the only vocal part present in the final scene and the final vocal part of the entire opera. The sustained “H[a]” sound sung by a separate vocal part to the solo sopranos consists of one exhaled breath tone that rises from ‘niente’ meaning nothing to then quickly subside. All effort required in order to decipher the ‘farrago of phonemes, syllables, and words’ previous to the final scene is no longer needed.94

                                                                                                                93 94

Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’ p. 205 Ibid. p. 206-207.

  Figure 4.15a – 4.15c: Vocal part in bars 703-704, piano part in bars 656 – 659 and string parts in bars 701 – 707 in scene 24 “Epilog” in Das Mädchen.95 A.

Throughout the final scene emphasis is placed on basic physical movement in the piano part.

B.

Figure 4.15b shows how a very quiet chromatic chord made up of B and C is repeated seemingly at random with some use of the pedal and the muting of the string with the hand. Similar reduction of instrumental movement and sound is evident in the final bars of the opera played by the string parts. Figure 4.15c shows continuous up bow and down bow movement performed in unison where the bow is gently brushed along muted strings away from the bridge toward the finger board and vice versa. For the final bars of the entire opera sound is barely audible and with the movement simulating slow inhalation and exhalation of breath, it seems highly poignant that the final brush stroke is that of an up bow followed by a full orchestral pause.

                                                                                                                95

Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, p. L121 and L128.

  C.

It is the compositional techniques evident in figure 4.15a – 4.15c that resemble the cessation of muscle fiber movement and the weakening of the pulse and heart caused by hypothermia that a severe environmental coldness can cause and lead to the death of a corporeal space. The Conceptual Integration Network model will now be applied to the above analysis of scenes 1, 3, and 24.

  Figure 4.16: The application of the Conceptual Integration Network model to scenes 1, 3, 12, 13 and 24 of Das Mädchen.

Generic space Scenes 1, 3, 12, 13 and 24 of Das Mädchen

Text space

Music space

Cold winter climate and external coldness •

Still white landscape

•

Rubbing of Styrofoam that bridges the transition from scene 12 “Ritsch 1 (Ofen) to scene 13 “Hauswand 2”. Sustained string part in high tessitura at the beginning of the opera.

•

Shivering

•

Distorted phonetic sound with inhalation and exhalation, sustained breath tones, speech like tones, irregular short bursts of rhythm and variations in dynamic levels in the solo soprano parts of scene 3 “Frier-Arie”.

•

Hypothermia leading to death

•

One exhaled breath tone by voice part separate to solo soprano. Basic physical movement in the piano and string parts at a very quiet dynamic. Poignant final up bow in unison by the string parts followed by a full orchestral pause.

Blended space Environmental coldness

  To conclude, figure 4.16 provides a visual representation of how specific compositional techniques and sound evident in scenes 1, 3, 12, 13 and 24 Das Mädchen represent a cold winter climate the physiological symptoms it can cause and therefore the ‘environmental coldness’ impinging on the corporeal space of the protagonist. The different types of coldness impinging on the protagonist(s) represented through sound in Das Mädchen signify what human beings are continuously exposed to during a lifetime. The incorporation of texts by Ensslin and da Vinci embellish the narrative of The Little Match-Seller and highlight how the ‘true’ story within ‘this pleasant fairy tale’ is a representation of Lachenmann’s notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness in a wider philosophical context. As Metzer argues, ‘the text creates links between the girl, Ensslin, and Leonardo. The trio experience the “two feelings” described by the painter, those of “fear and desire”. Moreover, all three are “outsiders”, the poor, the political radical, and the artist’.96 Having established what types of coldness engulf and impinge beauty, a visual representation of Lachenmann’s notion of beauty as a ‘pillow’ or a ‘pin-cushion’ can be constructed.97 Figure 4.17: The inextricable relation beauty has to the surrounding ‘coldness’ of reality.

Manic coldness

Hysterical coldness

Melancholic coldness

Environmental coldness

Beauty

                                                                                                                96 97

Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’ p. 201 Helmut Lachenmann, ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’, Tempo (new series), 135 (1980) p. 24.

  All in all, Das Mädchen enables the listener to witness through sound the necessary self-purging of the protagonist and how she feels at the same time as trying to transcend the types of coldness impinging on her via her fears and desires in order to reach the Beautiful and therefore the fundamental fluctuations that govern human response to reality. To conclude, the ambiguity behind the relation of ‘coldness’ to ‘beauty’ has formed the impetus behind this chapter. First, a structural comparison between the narrative of The Little Match-Seller and the libretto of Das Mädchen was conducted in order to understand how Lachenmann unleashes the hidden fundamental themes. It was acknowledged that Lachenmann maintains the traditional narrative structure of The Little Match-Seller in the libretto of Das Mädchen but significantly embellishes it with text by Ensslin and da Vinci in order to ultimately ‘open up this pleasant fairy tale, this <> to create space for the suppressible aspects hidden within’ and bridge the make believe with reality.98 Second, the compositional techniques that Lachenmann draws upon to signify the physiological symptoms that different types of coldness can cause to a corporeal space through sound in Das Mädchen were explored and applied to a Conceptual Integration Network model. As Metzer argues, ‘it is surprising how illustrative certain passages can be’.99 Third is was argued that the types of coldness impinging on the protagonist in Das Mädchen ultimately represents Lachenmann’s notion of beauty and the relation is has to coldness in a wider philosophical context. All in all, this chapter has shown how Lachenmann represents different types of coldness through sound and provided the foundations for ultimately helping to bridge and enhance current Anglo-American literature on the composer via an interpretative analysis of specific scene in Das Mädchen.

                                                                                                                98

Lachenmann, ‘Sounds are Natural Phenomena’ p. 40.

 Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’ p. 204  

99

  Chapter Five: Conclusion The straining of the relation between metaphorical and literal meaning seems a significant reason behind why Western literature limits the physiological symptoms of coldness to those caused by a reduction in temperature that is external to a corporeal space. For instance, Zhong and Leonardelli argue that ‘metaphors are not usually literal (e.g., Galinsky & Glucksberg, 2000) – the term ‘icy stare’ makes no reference to actual experience with ambient temperature. In fact, metaphors have been typically considered unidirectional’.100 With metaphors signifying a non-literal concept there is no obvious reason as to why dictionary definitions should focus on anything other than describing coldness as a term in relation to the environment or metaphorical meaning with little acknowledgement of the types of coldness that can occur psychologically within a corporeal space. However, it is by recognizing that the relation between metaphor and literal meaning can and do complement that Zhong and Leonardelli were able to conduct research to show how physical temperature and psychological perception correlate. Zhong and Leonardelli outline how ‘metaphors are not simply isolated concepts, they are constellations of concepts and experiences established through our interaction and negotiation with the natural and social environment and are then later used to understand more complex interactions’.101 By providing empirical evidence to support the notion that physiological symptoms relating to coldness can be induced by loneliness, a distinction could be made between coldness experienced from a reduction in environmental temperature, warmth from being held closely, and coldness from being lonely. This dissertation has explored and defined what types of coldness can impinge on a corporeal space and the physiological symptoms they can cause in order to liberate the term from predominately signifying just a reduction in external environmental temperature or metaphor. The relation between ‘beauty’ and coldness is another that seems a significant reason behind why the term has been under scrutiny from a philosophical and artistic perspective for millennia. Furthermore it seems generally agreed in Western literature and dictionary definitions that ‘beauty’ represents purely ‘the constructive,                                                                                                                 100

http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/facbios/file/Cold%20and%20Lonely%20Psych%20Sci.pdf p. 4 accessed on 3rd April 2011 through correspondence with Chen-Bo Zhong via e-mail. 101  Ibid.

  the rational and, in the context of our well-being, the good’.102 It is by recognising the fundamental importance of the inextricable relation beauty has to a somewhat harsh reality and therefore surrounding ‘coldness’ from a musical perspective that Lachenmann has been able to construct a poignant compositional ideology and technique to govern the output of his works. Ian Pace argues that the works of Lachenmann ‘can be considered ‘beautiful’ if one is prepared to accept Lachenmann’s rethinking of the nature of ‘the beautiful”.103 Despite being recognised as a highly important composer of his generation in his home country for some time and rapidly gaining similar recognition from an Anglo-American perspective, little research has focused upon how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness in his compositions from an analytical and interpretive perspective, focus has tended to be primarily on his ideology or technique. This dissertation has provided the foundations to help bridge and enhance current Anglo-American literature on the composer by clarifying how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness through sound. In order to theorise what types of coldness can impinge on a corporeal space and what physiological symptoms each coldness can cause, chapter two conducted a literary analysis of The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen.104 The chapter focused on revealing the fundamental narrative themes at work in The Little Match-Seller and how the notion of temperature is a common characteristic of each theme. Furthermore, the chapter highlighted that each fundamental theme of The Little Match-Seller represents a different variant of coldness that is impinging on the protagonist. Each type of coldness and the physiological symptoms they can cause were defined with specific reference being made to Madness and Civilization by Michel Foucault.105 By drawing upon Foucault’s exploration into melancholia, mania and hysteria, three types of coldness that can occur psychologically from within the corporeal space were outlined along with environmental coldness and visually represented in the form of a semiotic square. This chapter ultimately provided the foundations for enhancing knowledge of the fundamental themes at work in The                                                                                                                 102

Jennifer A. McMahon, Aesthetics and Material Beauty: Aesthetics Naturalized (Oxon: Routledge, 2007) p. 171. 103 Ian Pace, ‘Positive or Negative 1’, The Musical Times, vol. 139, 1859 (1998) p. 15. 104  Hans Christian Andersen, ed., Svend Larsen, ‘The Little Match-Seller’, Fairy Tales, vol. 1, trans. R. P. Keigwin (Denmark: Flensted, 1968) p. 380-385.   105 Michel Foucault, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, trans. Richard Howard (Oxon: Routledge, 2001).

  Little Match-Seller as well as help to liberate the term ‘coldness’ from predominately signifying just a reduction in external environmental temperature or metaphor. Lachenmann’s notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness was explored in chapter three. Parallels evident between The Little Match-Seller and Lachenmann’s compositional ideology and technique were drawn via an exploration into the composer’s article ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’ and an interview between the composer and David Ryan.106 The metaphorical resemblance that The Little Match-Seller has to Lachenmann’s notion of beauty was highlighted. Furthermore, it was argued that Lachenmann was fully aware of these parallels that prompted him to construct Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (1988 -1996).107 With specific reference made to ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’ by Nicholas Cook, an analytical and interpretive procedure was outlined that was applied to specific scenes of Das Mädchen in chapter four.108 This chapter ultimately provided the foundations for understanding how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness through sound. A thorough interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen was the main focus of chapter four. By comparing the narrative of The Little Match-Seller to the libretto of Das Mädchen an understanding of how Lachenmann maintains and distorts the fundamental narrative themes evident in the traditional text was unveiled. Specific scenes of Das Mädchen that draw upon text representing a fundamental narrative theme of The Little Match-Seller and therefore signify a type of coldness impinging on the protagonist was then analysed and interpreted using the procedure outlined in chapter three. Once is was understood how Lachenmann represents the different types of coldness impinging on the protagonist(s) through sound an overall interpretation distinguished how Das Mädchen resembles Lachenmann’s notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness in a wider philosophical context. This chapter showed how Lachenmann represents different types of coldness through sound and provided the foundations for ultimately helping to bridge and enhance

                                                                                                                106

Helmut Lachenmann, ‘The ‘Beautiful’ in Music Today’, Tempo (new series), 135 (1980) p. 20-24 and David Ryan, ‘Composer in Interview: Helmut Lachenmann’, Tempo (new series), 210 (1999) p.20-24. 107 Helmut Lachenmann, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (Stuttgart: Breitkopf and Härtel, 2001). 108 Nicholas Cook, ‘Theorizing Musical Meaning’, Music Theory Spectrum, vol. 23, 2 (2001) p. 170195.  

  current Anglo-American literature on the composer via an interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen. Other short stories by Hans Christian Andersen could be analysed with the same procedure applied to The Little Match-Seller in chapter two in order to explore whether they too have become branded by convention and consequently contain suppressed hidden meaning within fundamental narrative structure. Exploring the pattern of ‘fear’, ‘desire’, ‘fear and desire’ and ‘environmental coldness’ in tales such as The Snow Queen, The Snow Man, The Ice Maiden and The Snowdrop may provide a multitude of fundamental narrative themes that will be of interest to compare and contrast given each of the stories above contain more than one prominent character. The interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen could be extended much further to include other scenes from the opera or indeed the entire work. It would be of interest to explore scene 15a “Litanei”, 15b “Schreibt auf unsere Haut” and 18 ,,… zwei Gefühle…” as these contain the texts by Ensslin and da Vinci that signify desire and fear and desire. Scene 23 “Shô” has no allocated libretto text, however, as touched upon in the beginning of chapter three there is an evident connection between the relation of beauty to coldness and ancient Japanese poetry. Lachenmann discusses the significant relation that Japanese culture has to Das Mädchen. Of course, I – as many others – have known the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale since my childhood. I re-encountered it in a strangely alienated version, however, when my small daughter received a Japanese radio play version of this fairy tale as a gift from a relative in 1975, which, when listening to it, was twice as touching on account of its Japanese stylised cheerful sadness.109

Perhaps a deeper exploration into Japanese aesthetics on coldness may reveal a new type of coldness that signifies the seeming oxymoron of ‘cheerful sadness’ that can then be explored in relation to the sound created by the Shô in Das Mädchen.110 Scene 22 “Himmelfahrt” seemingly also does not fit into any of the four distinguished fundamental narrative themes as it deals with the concept of transcendence. As Metzer argues,                                                                                                                 109

Helmut Lachenmann, ‘Sounds are Natural Phenomena’, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern (Stuttgart: Kairos, 2002) p. 40. 110 The Shô is said to ‘sound like the cry of the phoenix’, which seems significant given the mystical bird and the relation it has to seeming mortality, heat and ash and the importance of temperature in The Little Match-Seller. For more information on the Shô please see William. E. Deal, ‘Performing Arts’, Handbook to life in medieval and early Japan (New York: Infobase Pubishing, 2006) p. 266.

  In the scene where the girl and the grandmother rise to heaven, Lachenmann conveys the growing gulf between heaven and earth by pushing up in range from the already stratospheric heights in the strings and plunging the heavy sonorities in the lower brass further and further down. At one point, he even pulls out ascending chromatic scales. It is hard to imagine a Baroque depiction of the Ascension being any more descriptive.111

Perhaps a deeper exploration into less defamiliarized ways of representing coldness through sound may reveal a new type of coldness that signifies transcendence that can then be explored in relation to the traditional ‘descriptive’ compositional techniques Lachenmann seemingly applied to scene 22. Extending the interpretive analysis of Das Mädchen will reveal more ways Lachenmann represents coldness through sound and enable the mapping of how Lachenmann represents his notion of beauty and the relation it has to coldness onto more musical material that in turn can provide an overall picture of the interaction between different types of coldness being represented through sound that may not be at first perceived. Analysing and interpreting more musical material may reveal that a different type of coldness is being signified to the one represented by the libretto allocated to the scene, which would then show how the musical material can at times contradict the fundamental theme of the scene and lead to the unveiling of a new musical narrative specific to the sound that is different and in competition with the text structure Lachenmann constructs. Sometimes it may be the case that no types of coldness are signified by sound, which can then lead to investigating what other hidden meaning the music of Das Mädchen emitting. The analysis and interpretation could extend further to including a comparison of Das Mädchen with other pieces of music that imply they are signifying the representation of coldness through sound such a ‘Winter’ by Vivaldi that Metzer draws attention to or more current works such as Schnee by Hans Abrahamsen. Not only does such further research have the potential to build upon the foundations provided for helping to bridge and enhance current Anglo-American literature on Helmut Lachenmann but it also nourishes the opportunity for enhancing the musical discipline as a whole.

Word Count: 15186                                                                                                                 111  David Metzer, ‘Sonic Flux’, Musical Modernism at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009) p. 204.  

  Appendix One: The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Andersen.112 It was terribly cold. Snow was falling, and soon it would be quite dark; for it was the last day in the year – New Year’s Eve. Along the street, in that same cold and dark, went a poor little girl in bare feet – well, yes, it’s true, she had slippers on when she left home; but what was the good of that? They were great big slippers which her mother used to wear, so you can imagine the size of them; and they both came off when the little girl scurried across the road just as two carts went whizzing by at a fearful rate. One slipper was not to be found, and a boy ran off with the other, saying it would do for a cradle one day when he had children of his own. So there was the little girl, walking along in her bare feet that were simply blue with cold. In an old apron she was carrying a whole lot of matches, and she had one bunch of them in her hand. She hadn’t sold anything all day, and no one had given her a single penny. Poor mite, she looked so downcast, as she trudged along hungry and shivering. The snowflakes settled on her long flaxen hair, which hung in pretty curls over her shoulders; but you may be sure she wasn’t thinking about her looks. Lights were shining in every window, and out into the street came the lovely smell of roast goose. You see, it was New Year’s Eve; that’s what she was thinking about. Over in a little corner between two houses – one of them jutted out rather more into the street than the other – there she crouched and huddled with her legs tucked under her; but she only got colder and colder. She didn’t dare to go home, for she hadn’t sold a match nor earned a single penny. Her father would beat her, and besides it was so cold at home. They had only the bare roof over their heads and the wind whistled through that, although the worst cracks had been stopped up with rags and straw. Her hands were really quite numb with cold. Ah, by a little match – that would be a comfort. If only she dared pull one out of the bunch, just one, strike it on the wall and warm her fingers! She pulled one out… ritch!... how it spirted and blazed! Such a clear warm flame, like a little candle, as she put her hand round it – yes, and what a curious light it was! The little girl fancied she was sitting in front of a big iron stove with shiny brass knobs and brass facings, with such a warm friendly fire burning… why, whatever was that? She was just stretching out her toes, so as to warm them too, when – out went the flame, and the stove vanished. There she sat with a little stub of burntout match in her hand. She struck another one. It burned up so brightly, and where the gleam fell on the wall this became transparent like gauze. She could see right into the room, where the table was laid with a glittering white cloth and with delicate china; and there, steaming deliciously, was the roast goose stuffed with prunes and apples. Then, what was even finer, the goose jumped off the dish and waddled along the floor with the carving-knife and fork in its back. Right up to the poor little girl it came… but then the match went out, and nothing could be seen but the massive cold wall. She lighted another match. Now she was sitting under the loveliest Christmas tree; it was even bigger and prettier than the one she had seen through the glass-door at the rich merchant’s at Christmas. Hundreds of candles were burning on the green branches, and gay-coloured prints, like the ones they hang in the shop-windows, looked down at her. The little girl reached up both her hands… then the match went out; all the Christmas candles rose higher and higher, until now she could see they were the shining stars. One of them rushed down the sky with a long fiery streak. “That’s somebody dying,” said the little girl, for her dead Grannie, who was the only one had been kind to her, had told her that a falling star shows that a soul is going up to God She struck yet another match on the wall. It gave a glow all around, and there in the midst of it stood her old grandmother, looking so very bright and gentle and loving. “Oh, Grannie”, cried the little girl, “do take me with you! I know you’ll disappear as soon as the match goes out – just as the warm stove did, and the lovely roast goose, and the wonderful great Christmas-tree”. And she quickly struck the rest of the matches in the bunch, for she did so want to keep her Grannie there. And the matches flared up so gloriously that it became brighter than broad daylight. Never had Grannie looked so tall and beautiful. She took the little girl into her arms, and together they flew in joy and splendour, up, up, to where there was no cold, no hunger, no fear. They were with God. But in the cold early morning huddled between the two houses, sat the little girl with rosy cheeks and a smile on her lips, frozen to death on the last night of the old year. The New Year dawned on the little dead body leaning there with the matches, on lot of them nearly all used up. “She was trying to get warm,” people said. Nobody knew what lovely things she had seen and in what glory she had gone with her old Grannie to the happiness of the New Year.

                                                                                                                112

Hans Christian Andersen, ed., Svend Larsen, ‘The Little Match-Seller’, Fairy Tales, vol. 1, trans. R. P. Keigwin, (Denmark: Flensted, 1968) p. 380-385.

  Appendix Two: The libretto of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern by Helmut Lachenmann113

  In the street 1 – Chorale prelude “O du fröhliche” (Joyous night) 2 – Transition: “In the cold…” 3 – Frost aria, part I 4 – Trio and repeat (Frost aria, part II) 5 – Scherzo (Part I “The Queen of the Night”) 6a – Scherzo (Part II: Tongue clucking aria) 6b – Silent night 6c – Tongue clucking aria (finish) 7 – “Two carriages” 8 – “The pursuit” 9 – “Snow flakes”

10 – “In all the windows…”

It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large and had belonged to her mother.

They were, indeed, so large that the poor little creature had lost them whilst running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with cold. In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No-one had bought anything from her the whole day, nor had anyone given her a single penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along; poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not. Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savoury smell of roast goose, for it was New Year’s eve – yes, she remembered that.

In front of the wall of the house 11 – Wall of the house 1 “In a corner”

12 – Ritsch 1 (Stove)

In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled up. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold; she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and had not even a penny to take home. Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags. Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah ! perhaps a burning match might do some good, if only she could pull one from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out – “scratch! (ndt : Ritsch)” how it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It

                                                                                                                113

Helmut Lachenmann, ‘Libretto’, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern: Musik mit Bildern, trans. Inca Langues and Richard Neel (Stuttgart: Kairos, 2002) p. 25-29.

 

13 – Wall of the house 2

was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. How the fire burned ! It seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo ! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand.

  14 – Ritsch 2 (“The table was covered, Wall of the house 3” Part not composed)

15a – Litany

15b – “Write on our skin”

She rubbed another match on the wall. It burst into flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room. The table was covered with a snowy white tablecloth, on which stood a splendid dinner service and a steaming roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums. And more wonderful still, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl. Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her. Criminal, madman and suicide embody – this contradiction. They are annihilated by it. Their annihilation illustrates man’s hopeless impasse in the system: destroy yourself or destroy others. Dead or egoist. But their death shows more than the perfection of the system: they are not criminal enough, they are not mad enough, they are not murderous enough, and so the system hastens theirs death. A death which is at the same time the negation of the system: Their criminality, their madness, their death express the revolt of the destroyed against his destruction, not object, but man. Write on our skin. Gudrun Ensslin

16a – Ritsch 3 16b - Shop

16c – Transition (“The Christmas lights rose higher and higher”)

17 – Evening blessing (“When a star falls…”) 18 – “… two feelings…”

She lit another match and found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree. It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchant’s. Thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and colourful pictures, like those she had seen in the shop windows, looked down upon it all. The little thing stretched out her hand towards them, and the match went out. The Christmas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. “Someone is dying,” thought the little girl, for her old grandmothers, the only person who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her than when a star falls, a soul was going up to God. Even the raging sea does not make sure a roar when the North wind whips the lashing waves between Scylla and Charybdis into a fury; nor do Stromboli and Etna when the sulphurous flames they retain finally rent asunder the mountain tops, spewing out rocks and earth into the air along with belching flames; nor does Mongibello when its fiery canerns send forth the elements they barely manage to contain, furiously spitting and spewing them in all directions, repelling all that hinders their impetuous advance (…) Dragged from futile reverie and wanting to behold the

  immense number and variety of forms created by fertile nature. I reached, after wandering a moment amongst the shady rocks, the entrance to a large cavern in front of which I stood for a moment, dumbfounded and knowing nothing of this wonder. Arching my back, placing my left hand on my knee and shading my lowered and closed eyelids with my right hand, I leant numerous times to one side and to the other seeking to distinguish something within: however the obscurity reigning inside made this impossible. Two feelings soon welled up inside me, fear and desire: fear of the dark and threatening cave, desire to see if there were not some mystery within. Codex Arundel, Leonardo da Vinci

19 – Wall of the house 4/20a Ritsch 4 20b – The grandmother 21 – “Take me with you”

22 – Ascension (“In brightness and joy”)

23 - Shô 24 – Epilogue (“But in the cold dawn”)

 

She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone around her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance. “Grandmother,” cried the little one, “Take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas tree.” And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmothers there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noonday, and her grandmothers had never appeared so huge or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God. In the dawn of morning the poor little thing lay there, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall; she had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year ; and the New Year’s sun rose and shone upon her little corpse! The child was still sitting, in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt. “She tried to warm herself,” said some. No-one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmothers, on New Year’s day. Translation: Inca Langues, Richard Neel

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  Websites http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/facbios/file/Cold%20and%20Lonely%20Psych%20Sci.pdf accessed on 4th April 2011.