Something between Pink Floyd and Bach

The cycle of poems «novembrig» by Buchs poet Elsbeth Maag has helped countless people in dificult times. Now the text, originally written in dialect, has ben translated into High German and set to music.

When the premiere of novembrig hits the stage on Friday, 3 November 2023 at the TAK theatre in Schaan, Liechtenstein, two people in the audience will be more excited than anyone else. The first is Elsbeth Maag, the Buchs poet and author of the novembrig song lines, which have touched and moved so many people. «I will sit there in absolutely joyful anticipation and my heart will be pounding away,» she says on this mild morning in early autumn as we meet for a conversation in the Traube’s Gartenzimmer with the Gams entrepreneur and cultural patron Alois Bischof. This 3 November will be special for him, too. I’ll probably also experience a little fear as I sit there,” he reveals. «We have invested so much passion, time and work. I’ve heard it so many times now, but that evening I will experience it as though I were immersing myself in the words and sounds for the first time.»

But let’s start at the beginning.

Dear Elsbeth, you are the creator of novembrig. Please could you explain to us what it is and how it came about?
EM: In the late 1990s, I received a request from the Toggenburg musician and composer Peter Roth to write poems about life and death in my Werdenberg dialect. I took on the challenge. Living, dying, new growth, death – nature shows us the way. As I wrote, I myself became a leaf, the wind, a stone – I merged with nature. That’s how the novembrig cycle of poems came into being. In 1997, Peter Roth wrote a song-like composition for mixed choir, solo soprano, clarinet, violoncello and piano. Numerous concerts at various locations followed over several years – the scoring became a true success in the Swiss-German region. The countless responses from people for whom novembrig was a help in difficult times were overwhelming. Eventually, it fell asleep. But it did not die. Now it’s coming back. Differently. Wonderfully differently.

a branch fell
suddenly
in the garden
in the middle of summer
in the middle of the heart

How did you ad Alois become a team? I mean, how did the collaboration between you two and the composer Ulrich Zeitler come about?
EM: Alois was enthusiastic about novembrig from the start, and he is a mutual friend of mine and Uli (Ulrich) Zeitler. He came to me around six years ago with the suggestion to translate the dialect version into Standard German. I couldn't imagine it at all! «It's possible!» I said, but then my interested was piqued and I got to work (laughs). It felt important to have someone whose mother tongue is Standard German critically assess my translation. Uli was the perfect man for the job. AB: Peter Roth's scoring from 1997 left a lasting impression on me. It went straight to my heart. So I came up with a plan to make Elsbeth's precious text known to a wider circle of people. I encouraged her to translate her work into Standard German with the aim of spreading the new text throughout the German-speaking region with new scoring by Ulrich Zeitler. As Elsbeth mentioned, it wasn't an easy undertaking (laughs).

Since Ulrich Zeitler was in Germany at the time of this conversation, I visited him in advance at a recording studio in Rorschacherberg. At the end of an intense day of work behind the mixing console, he took the time to answer a few questions.

Dear Uli, what was your reaction to the idea of translating Elsbeth’s cycle of poems into Standard German and having it set to new music?
UZ: When I found out about this idea in 2017, I reacted exactly like Elsbeth: «Impossible!» I stood by this at first, even though I had proofread Elsbeth’s work after she translated it into Standard German. However, it wouldn’t leave my mind, and new composition attempts and outlines found their way into the world over the years. A lot of material ended up in the bin (laughs). Finally, in early 2020, I contacted Elsbeth and Alois as it had all suddenly clicked.

What distinguishes your new scoring?
UZ: My new score takes a completely different approach compared to Peter Roth’s original version from back then. It also involved new compositional territory for me. I was conscious of the fact that so much of what happens between Elsbeth’s lines could be better expressed instrumentally rather than vocally. I had been writing vocal music almost exclusively for over 20 years and had not yet developed any truly independent instrumental music in my current sound language.

Speaking of independent, how much freedom did Alois give you in the execution?
UZ: Alois said he wanted something between Pink Floyd and Bach (laughs). No, seriously, the style of novembrig deliberately defies simple classification. The primary goal was to make the text, its message and atmosphere, as well as its wealth of images and colours musically tangible. To be able to implement this acoustically, I paid more attention than ever to a balanced mix of more classical and jazz-oriented musicians for the orchestration. I also brought some people on board who cultivate both areas intensely. Of course, I also deliberately added the occasional special dash of colour.

there is the spring
and the resonance
there is the summer
and the resonance
there is the autumn
and the memory
there is the afterglow
the contemplation

Elsbeth, is the new novembrig still your novembrig?
EM: It looks completely different now, but yes, it’s still my novembrig. I still feel this strong connection. Frankly speaking, it overwhelms me a bit. This project will be a highlight of my life.

Alois, as a sponsor of the project, I want to ask you: In addition to the preview on 31 October 2023 at the catholic church in Buchs and the premiere on 3 November 2023 at the TAK theatre, what further plans do you have for novembrig?
AB: As a sponsor of the project, I thought it would be ideal and desirable – in addition to further concerts in the coming year, including in Germany – to find a publisher who would also produce and distribute a CD and booklet based on the existing material. This would allow us to offer interested parties a comprehensive aesthetic experience that stimulates all the senses. The way I see it, the special lyrical and musical exploration of the topic of the end of life gives novembrig a shape that is easily accessible to both readers and listeners. It allows people to relieve reservations and deepen their own relationship with life – which also includes loss and death. In order to reach as many people as possible, I think it’s important to make novembrig tangible as literature, music, graphics and art, as well as visually through photographs and videos. With a bit of luck, we may be able to offer the first CD during the premiere.

Poetry as a multimedia event? Amazing!
AB: I was at a renowned book store in St. Gallen some time ago. I sought out the poetry section with our project in the back of my mind. Finding it was quite the challenge. I finally found myself below a staircase in front of a tiny rack holding just a few volumes of poetry. That shocked me. I wondered: When did we lose poetry? And where? It really hurt my heart. That’s when I realised that nowadays we need more than poems published exclusively as books. This is how the idea came about to set the cycle of poems to music. The experience ultimately inspired me to pull novembrig into the present day.

EM: I have known Alois for a long time. He is a doer. He thinks big, outside the box. I wasn’t used to this when we began our joint project. To be honest, it was like listening to another language as he and Uli spoke – I was completely overwhelmed (laughs). However, I also knew that if the two of them picked up the reins, everything would turn out well. I trust them.

Elsbeth, how does poetry come about? Can you learn poetry?
EM: To a certain extent. I remember once being invited to a school, where my task was to familiarise the students with poetry. After my talk, a boy said to me: «Whatever, a rock is a rock!» I replied: «Place different rocks in your hand and close your eyes. Did you know that there are some with such soft skin?» Who knows if the boy still remembers that encounter (laughs).

To finish, I’d like to introduce you to the readers a little more personally. May I give it a try?
AB and EM: Of course!

Alois, you are a doer, a visionary and an art lover …
AB: No, that’s not me! I’m a dreamer. I dream my days and nights away. I have no idea how things should be. But I am amazed at things, and sometimes that creates the desire to influence these things with the means I have at my disposal. I’ve been able to realise a lot of projects this way. My basic attitude is: I’m curious and I will always be curious.

Another attempt: Elsbeth, you are dreamy, down to earth and love the analogue. You are mindful and sensitive …
EM: Yes and no. It’s not like I see something and have to action it straight away. I don’t get the urge to write down everything that’s on my mind at any given moment. I don’t often feel kissed by the muse. On the contrary, writing poetry is work. I sit down at my desk and make the decision to write. Then suddenly one word appears on the paper and then the next. In the best case scenario, that becomes a poem. Thank you for the lovely conversation and good luck with this precious project.

novembrig

novembrig describes the circle of life, of which death is a natural part, and is a project close to the heart of the cultural patron Alois Bischof. Feeling the lasting impression of poet Elsbeth Maag’s cycle of poems – originally written in dialect – he came up with the plan to make this sensuous text available to a wider circle of people. He encouraged the poet to translate her work into Standard German with the aim of spreading the new text version throughout the German-speaking region with a new contemporary scoring by the composer Ulrich Zeitler.

Zeitler’s composition hears and feels the atmospheric density between the lines of what cannot be put into words. The composer’s musical versatility leads to a nuanced, unmistakable yet elusive sound language.

Preview: 31 October 2023
in the catholic church in Buchs

Premiere: 3 November 2023
in the TAK theatre in Schaan