Memoirs of Elagabalus", "The Egg Musher", and "Mio Passar Solitario" have been performed for the first time by the El Cimarrón Ensemble at the festival "Sommerkonzerte im Altmühltal" (Audi Forum Ingolstadt, Germany) on July 12th, 2007.


ENSEMBLE
Soprano, Violin, Guitar, Flute and Percussion.
Text:  Giordano Bruno / Antonio Machado / Psalm 55, 7-9 / Edward Lear.

Textual continuity is being renounced. The English `disturbance text` represents metaphysics from below. Ascending and declining tension gradients. Fragmentary nonlinear textual statements are manifested only in the WORD per se. Categorical phenomenon of dissolution. Temporal-spatial discontinuum.
Transcendence – even if disturbed or annulled – has no need of linearity.
A specific musical parameter is intrinsic to each textual level. Even without words, then, that which is to be spoken still exists, uninterrupted.
(„and Moses, in order to hear HIM, had to be more silent than silence itself“: Edmond Jabès). That which is to be spoken IS that stillness.
Unutterable.

The new work belongs to the tradition of the Assente compositions dating from the past 5-6 years. To a large extent, the basic rhythmic structures have been adapted from Assente III/San Pietro di Colonia:
The constellation of 9 superimposed rhythmic cells (each cell consisting of a complex, multilayered system). All of these layers are effectuated permanently, but realised only temporarily, if audibly. Eo ipso: the inaudible portion is by far the more substantial, the greater. For this new composition, these cells have to a certain extent undergone functional metamorphoses. The respective parameter correlation text/musical structure demands a clearly distinctive character.
Accordingly, the idea underlying the harmonic structure has been taken over and developed further – namely as that which does not manifest itself, as the principle of the absent centre, the absent point of reference. If previously the absence of central tone of quasi-modal five-tone structure signalled the harmonic principle of construction, then this idea is now pursued ad absurdum, and the `morphology of the mode` which sustains all of the Assente compositions is formulated as a whole in and through absence.
The mode exists only to the degree that it does not exist/appear.
(see the citation from EDMOND JABÈS above).
                                                                             (translation: Ian Pepper)
                                                                        

Performance/Representation:

The stage is – beside a small stripe in the middle-area – curtained off. The stripe allows a visibility of exactly the one stage part presenting the singer.
The vocalist should be placed a bit raised up central in the background of the stage. All other musicians agitate – beside several temporarely activities in the well seen middle-area – half and half in concealment – behind this white/or almost white „curtain“ .

During the first scene the violin and flute sound appears from far off. Both musicians are placed in the opposite end of the room,  left hand and right hand , moving forward step by step, so to speak slowly entering the concealment.

Taking part on each of the ritualized movements (score) – and partly even  reciting libretto-fragments – are all members of the ensemble.