gemischter Chor (N. 13 a) Tractatus I)

Tractatus I is the first piece of a trilogy based on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus logico-philosophicus. Starting point of the composition is the conclusion of Wittgenstein’s work that outlines the limits of the logical language. It can be used to utter propositions about this world, but not about the spheres beyond it, for instance the area of metaphysics. Therefore, Wittgenstein concludes: “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent”. However, it might still be possible to grasp a notation or get a feeling of the world beyond the physical world by means of illogical language, i. e. poetry. Music also utilises a non-logical language or form of expression. The basic idea of Tractatus I-III is to explore to which extent music is able to go beyond the limits defined by Wittgenstein. By doing so, one might achieve some form of understanding of the metaphysical world. The sonic events of Tractatus I were derived from the ordinal numbers used by Wittgenstein in his treatise. Every number at the side of the original text is translated into an articulation available in the particular section. The 48 voices are divided into groups of three. Every group sings/speaks in the same way, but sometimes only a solo voice or two voices are requested. The text and its formal-logical argumentation enable the simultaneous expression of passages sounding the same. The focus is, however, not set on unconditional intelligibility of all text passages – they may be looked up. What is more important isthe sound-wise impression that is emphasised by utilising filters, reverberation as well as flanger, phaser and chorus effects.