Ascolta (1988) for tenor, choir and soundtracks
Ascolta is part of a video opera about the history of aviation. Two pilots (Daedalus and Icarus), father and son, enter an aviation museum, etc. With Ascolta, I had the Shuttle drama in my mind’s eye and ear – the heroes who wanted to travel outside the earth’s atmosphere. On television, you could not hear the sound of the explosion, but could only see the debris and the heroes falling from the sky like snow.
he lies
peacefully in his small cockpit
hardly looking
rages ahead
flies himself
to bits
and comes back as snow.
Icarus then sings, asking his father, ‘Where does sound go after it is heard?’ In a virtuous, slightly hypocritical atmosphere that those enormous Boeings often have when you ride in them – the cabin crew with their chilled smiles, as if to say, ‘Just relax, everything will be all right this time, too’ –, the choir sings
in the enormous hole
of space,
sound rolls itself up
into flying silence...
in response to Icarus’ question (the aria). The sounds are imbued with the perfect machine and the triumph of the flying man, who breaks free from the labyrinth.
a great, buzzing
flying form – thornback ray –
suspended, explains
the appearance of momentum,
gravity and equilibrium.
Commissioned by the Nederlandse Omroepstichting.
(from the Music Information Centre Donemus MuziekGroep Nederland)
Luister
Tekst: Bert Schierbeek
I
rustig in zijn kleine kabine
ligt hij
kijkt nauwelijks
raast voort
vliegt zich
te pletter
spat uiteen
en keert als sneeuw
terug.
II
luister
waar blijft het geluid
als het geklonken heeft
het valt denk je
het duikt denk je
en vallend
uit de hand
uit het oog
zie je
het viel
al vallend
viel het
uit de hand
in het oor
het land
van de slapende bergen
oh waar blijft het geluid
als het geklonken heeft.
III
in het immense gat
van de ruimte rolt
het geluid zich op
tot vliegende stilte
vliegen door
blauwe wimpers
van witte bergen
in melodieën van
groene ravijnen
bewegen schaduwen in
een witgolvend landschap
een grote gonzende
vliegvorm rog
verklaart zwevend
het gezicht van vaart
zwaartekracht en evenwicht.
Listen
peaceful in hls little cockpit
he lies
hardly looking
speeds on
crashes
flies into pieces
and as snow
returns
listen
where does sound remain
af ter it has resounded
it falls you think
it dives you think
and falling
out of the hand
out of the eye
you see
it fell
while falling
it fell
out of the hand
into the ear
the land
of sleeping mountains
oh where does sound remain
after it has resounded
in the immense hole
of space the sound
rolls itself up
into flying silence
flying through
blue eyelashes
of white mountains
in melodies of
green ravines
move shadows in
a white-waving landscape
a large humming
flight-form ray
illumines floating
the face of speed
gravity and balance
English translation: Paul Goodman
Ascolta
I
calmo nella sua piccola cabina
è sdraiato
appena guarda
volando si precipita
si schianta
si sfascia
e come neve
ritorna.
II
ascolta
dove rimane il suono
dopo aver sonato
cade pensi
tuffa pensi
e cadendo
dalla mano
dall' occhio
vedi
cadeva
cadendo
cadeva
dalla mano
nell' orecchio
il paese
della montagna dormiente
oh dove rimane il suono
dopo aver sonato.
III
nello immenso buco
dello spazio si arrotola
il suono
fino al volante silenzio
volare tra
ciglia azzurre
di monti bianchi
tra melodie di
verdi burroni
si muovono ombre in
un bianco paesaggio ondulante
una grossa ronzante
razza in forma di volo
spiega sospesa
il volto della velocità
equilibrio e gravità.
Bert Schierbeek
Italian translation: Karin van Ingen Schenau and Ike Cialona-Jansen
close window