The setting: Four stages separated by semi-translucent lace curtains. Each stage contains one instrument besides a hanging big drum and a cymbal. The audience (max. 48) is divided in 8 x 6 people and seated in between the four stages so that each group of people can only see one stage.
The beginning: four musicians on the four different stages start playing the cymbals by, for example, turning them around and around; the sound is barely audible. After a while, they start whispering short textual fragments in a polyphonic style.
The middle: a beautiful musical conversation between flute and clarinet. It is almost impossible to distinguish which sound is coming from which instrument. They interact as a kind of echoing.
The end: the loudest part of the piece, though still really soft – an affecting aria (the first and only time the female vocalist really sings), accompanied by cello, clarinet, flute, and keyboard. The ending is quite abrupt.
David Lang’s Whispering Opera. Fantastic!
Thinking Sounds 