Secrets of a Soul

[silent film, G.W. Pabst, Germany 1926]

live-music: Druckkammer [2009] by IzP

 

duration: 80'

 

(first performed: june 03rd 2009, Essen / Germany)

 

FILM:

 

Martin Fellmann, plagued by anxieties, visits a psychotherapist. Bit by bit, as his subconscious is unfolded, his torments take on organized forms. Although it is clear that a Freudian psychoanalysis in the form of a film presumably can not be a medically adequate form of presentation, that’s not the concern here: the idea of psychoanalysis is just the inspiration for marvelous images. The film penetrates into Fellman’s mind, with fantastical images projecting their innermost anxieties onto the screen. 

 

MUSIC:

 

The musical “pressure chamber” follows the same thoughts, namely crawling into the mind, removing layer from layer, until finally the most delicate layer of the unconscious — that tiny space that lies at its very depths — is reached. The physical pressure in the body and the acoustical nearness to the operational noise of the body give birth to muffled, muted tone colors. These take the listener on a trip through Fellmann’s dream images that might resemble a look into one’s own ruin. This is artistically somewhat reminiscent of David Lynch and also of David Cronenberg, and even (from the standpoint of compositional technique) a bit reminiscent of Morton Feldman.

 

Music for amplified accordion, electric bass, live electronics, keyboards, and prerecorded sound.

 

DRUCKKAMMER means PREASURE CHAMBER

 

 

[translated by Eric Flesher / USA]