Laberinto (..."palabras, poemas"...) for 4 singers and ensemble (1991) based on
poems by Jorge Luis Borges, Alejandra Pizarnik and Marcelo Gasparini
Genre: Instrumental Music
Duration: ca 25 minutes.
"Laberinto (..."palabras, poemas"...)" (Labyrinth (..."words, poems"...)), was composed in 1991. Exactly as in another work of mine "Poème du temps qui ne passe pas"(..."del otro lado del muro"...) from 1993, the central point is to put into music some poems and ideas by Argentinean poet Jorge Luis Borges, whose vision of the world is very close to that of my own. The two works share almost the same tone-material, which consists on a series of 6 notes, so many as the name "Borges".
In "Laberinto (..."palabras,
poemas"...)" there are other poems
by other Argentinean poets (Alejandra Pizarnik and Marcelo Gasparini),
which reinforce the main thematic of the work. However it is the vision of Borges,
in which the world and life itself does look like a labyrinth in which we all are
captured, that dominates the entire composition. The paths might be different and many, but the goals remain the same.
The piece is played without interruption, where the seven poems are
separated by interludes, which prepare the atmosphere of the next poem.
The form of "Laberinto (..."palabras,
poemas"...)"
cannot be seen "a priori", because it depends entirely on the poems
and is also determined by them. The last 3 measures however, are identical with
the first three, what gives the impression that the piece could start from the
beginning again and again, up to the eternity.
The performance of "Laberinto
(..."palabras, poemas"...)" must take place in darkness, where the singers
(who take different places on the stage during the performance) are
illuminated as indicated in the score.
The seven poems describe with music and text some aspects
of everyone's life, such as love, death, dreaming, the moon (which acts as the
eternal witness of humanity) and last but not less, the labyrinth itself.
"Laberinto (..."palabras,
poemas"...)" won in 1997 the award „TRIMARG
97“ from the ”Consejo Argentino de la
Música” (Internacional Music Council).