The section "Monaden" was inspired by some of Goethe's letters on musicological topics, such as a letter to Schlosser:

"My conviction is this: just as the major tone arises from the expansion of the monad, it exerts a similar effect on human nature, driving it towards the object, towards activity, towards the expanse. The same holds true for the minor tone; as it springs from the contraction of the monad, it also draws together, concentrates, propelling it towards the subject, and there, it knows how to find the most cherished nooks in which the dearest melancholy prefers to hide."
(Goethe to Schlosser, Weimar, May 5, 1815)

"[...] When the sound monad expands, the major tone emerges; when it contracts, the minor tone comes into being [...]"
(Goethe to Schlosser, Weimar, May 5, 1815)

The string sextet 'Wanderer's Night Song' was premiered on September 12, 1999, in the Maria Magdalene Church in Marne by the Brahms Sextet (Stefan Wagner, Mayumi Shjimizu: Violin / Hirofumi Fukai, Jakob Zeijl: Viola / Jury Bertelmann, Michael Katzenmaier: Cello) and is dedicated to the Brahms Sextet.

Monaden | Excerpt from 'Wanderers Nachtlied' for string-sextet (1999)

Lian Novara