Atlantis 1
7 Miniatures
op. 16, 2001
“…die rock-rakete…”
“…hommage a giuseppe sinopoli…”
“…why…”
“…it goes…”
“…a little before…”
“…now…”
“…tomorrow…”
For soprano and cymbalom
Duration: 13 min.
Commissioned by Luigi Gaggero for the Biennale di Venezia
World premiere: 24 Mai 2001, Biennale di Venezia, Italy. Cymbalom: Luigi Gaggero, soprano: Silvia Weiss
Composer’s notes
Atlantis 1 is based on a series of dramaturgically constructed ideas, shifting between the absurd and the real — as if telling a story. These seven short pieces comment on and capture these ideas musically.
Each miniature has its own narrative arc and, despite its brevity, contains a beginning, a middle, and an end. The pieces are performed quasi attacca, as if the performer holds their breath and then continues unfolding the story. Together, the seven movements form a larger whole — like pieces of a puzzle.
Performers are encouraged to engage with the titles of the individual pieces and to develop their own interpretation. The titles serve as a kind of program, guiding the performance through their naming and implicit instructions.
Although Atlantis 1 was composed in a fixed sequence, performers are free to choose a different order for the miniatures when staging the piece — for example, to follow a specific dramaturgical idea or to adapt the music to another performance context.