Schlachten

SCHLACHTEN I

KRUNK (KRIEG/innen) Als wir ihn in den Sarg legten, war er leicht wie ein Vogel
LOCKED IN
KRUNK (KRIEG/innen)
WRONG . SCHAUKELN – ESSEN – SAFT
by Helmut Oehring

Following in the footsteps of “Massacre, do you hear MASSACRE!” as part of the “Aghet” project, Helmut Oehring is now set to open a new chapter in his preoccupation with the various aspects of violence, and continue his collaboration with the Marc Sinan Company.
Set pieces of a documentary, autobiographical, poetic and academic nature – combined with literary motifs – once again form the backbone of this libretto. As imaginary rivals in a civil war, the two soloists – David Moss & Marc Sinan – engage in a vocal-instrumental debate, while being chorally supported by the musicians of the ensemble.

SCHLACHTEN II

AUF DEM NICHTS
WTC 9/11 – Steve Reich
December – Turgut Erçetin
Elegia 3 – Conrado del Rosario
Auf dem Nichts (UA) – Marc Sinan

The second part of the series will feature three string quartets to focus on the perspective of victims – be they the victims of the acts of terrorism on September 11, 2001, incarcerated members of the Turkish opposition or Armenian prisoners of war. Turgut Erçetin is one of the most high-profile advocates of New Music in Turkey. In “December” (2011), he uses live electronic music to explore new types of musical interaction. The four musicians are connected to one another via electronics, allowing each instrument corpus to act as a resonance chamber for the others. Steve Reich’s piece “WTC 9/11” about the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York is a highly moving musical testament in which both the helpers and victims have their say.
Marc Sinan’s composition “Auf dem Nichts” works with historical field recordings: He interweaves the singing of Armenian prisoners during the First World War with his contemporary musical score.

SCHLACHTEN III

THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
Scenic Composition by Marc Sinan

Marc Sinan’s dramatic composition associatively links two textual foundations: Roberto Bolaño’s novel “2666” and Jean Franco’s “Cruel Modernity”. Both texts reflect on the phenomenon of male violence, its mechanisms and how it’s directed towards women or entire ethnic groups.
The vehemence of these texts is mirrored by the sound of his band, which performs with a vigour greater than Motörhead and the fragility of a baroque ensemble. The musical score is interspersed with the religious chanting of IS propaganda. The composer is plagued by the question of how a society, which is far removed from the ravages of war both in relation to time and geography, can remain aware of its own potential for violence, removing the taboos surrounding it and making people comprehend that barbarism is not a phenomenon exclusively associated with “the others”.