This is a longer piece for ensemble, objects, stereo tapes and image projection. It aims at weaving a range of relationships (musical, sonic, intermedial, semantic and communicative, or even "ritual" ones), into a very subtle yet firmly connected context. In some places the border to entropy seems to be crossed, yet the notion of an intentional, designed structure remains always clear. Music here, is space: a precondition for any meaning (in an anthropological sense). The title "things without us, their slowness and the freedom of the people (in music)" refers to this space, apart from stable, predefined meanings, apart from the world as a conceptualized, readily available place. It casts a tender look at all the possible perceptions of things that, in the de-humanizing frame of capitalism, are increasingly reduced or inaccessible to us.

The piece was performed by Platypus Ensemble (www.platypus.or.at) under the direction of Jaime Wolfson,
as were
Kaoko Amano, soprano, objects
Elena Gabbrielli, flutes, objects
Anna Koch, clarinets, objects,
Marianna Oczkowska, violin, objects
Antonina Goncharenko, viola, objects
Stefanie Prenn, cello, objects
Gregor Aufmesser, double-bass, objects
Jan Satler, piano
Julius Rüggeberg, sound engineering
(& Hannes Dufek, image projections)

on Dec 15th, 2022 at REAKTOR Vienna
live-recording by Aron Ludwig

die dinge ohne uns, ihre langsamkeit und die freiheit der menschen (in musik) (h.m., m.m., s.z.)

This is the first piece out of a cycle of 14 pieces (hence the title) for Soprano and Flute, which I wrote for Kaoko Amano (Soprano) and Iva Kovač (Flutes). The cycle belongs, in a way, to a number of pieces under the collective identifier "exercises in transience", this one being the seventh "exercise". The unifying idea behind the pieces in this work series is not any kind of musical of formal aspect, but rather their metaphorical content, as in a way all of the pieces aim to work with the sensation of transient, passing life, transient reality, being mortal. There are no clear-cut indications as to how this needs to be adressed in a piece for it to belong to the series, however they do tend to feature similarly fragile sounds, partially unstable constellations, loose formal strategies and so on.

Some of these characteristics do also apply here, however the (perceived) necessity to use some text for the piece because of the presence of a singer lead to a slightly different approach. In "saying the same thing 14 times over", 14 different texts, from different authors across time(s), in different contexts and from different parts of the globe, are used to say, essentially, the same thing. This is also reflected in the flute part which is based on a recurring set of pitches. 

This is a live recording of the piece from the first performance which took place on May 25th, 2025, at Neue Musik in St. Ruprecht, Vienna, with the very fabulous performers Kaoko Amano (Soprano) and Kovač (Flutes).

saying the same thing 14 times over - I (after Jorge Luis Borges)

This is the seventh piece out of a cycle of 14 pieces (hence the title) for Soprano and Flute, which I wrote for Kaoko Amano (Soprano) and Iva Kovač (Flutes). The cycle belongs, in a way, to a number of pieces under the collective identifier "exercises in transience", this one being the seventh "exercise". The unifying idea behind the pieces in this work series is not any kind of musical of formal aspect, but rather their metaphorical content, as in a way all of the pieces aim to work with the sensation of transient, passing life, transient reality, being mortal. There are no clear-cut indications as to how this needs to be adressed in a piece for it to belong to the series, however they do tend to feature similarly fragile sounds, partially unstable constellations, loose formal strategies and so on.

Some of these characteristics do also apply here, however the (perceived) necessity to use some text for the piece because of the presence of a singer lead to a slightly different approach. In "saying the same thing 14 times over", 14 different texts, from different authors across time(s), in different contexts and from different parts of the globe, are used to say, essentially, the same thing. This is also reflected in the flute part which is based on a recurring set of pitches. 


This is a live recording of the piece from the first performance which took place on May 25th, 2025, at Neue Musik in St. Ruprecht, Vienna, with the very fabulous performers Kaoko Amano (Soprano) and Kovač (Flutes).

saying the same thing 14 times over - VII (after Wang Wei)



This is the fourth piece out of a cycle of 14 pieces (hence the title) for Soprano and Flute, which I wrote for Kaoko Amano (Soprano) and Iva Kovač (Flutes). The cycle belongs, in a way, to a number of pieces under the collective identifier "exercises in transience", this one being the seventh "exercise". The unifying idea behind the pieces in this work series is not any kind of musical of formal aspect, but rather their metaphorical content, as in a way all of the pieces aim to work with the sensation of transient, passing life, transient reality, being mortal. There are no clear-cut indications as to how this needs to be adressed in a piece for it to belong to the series, however they do tend to feature similarly fragile sounds, partially unstable constellations, loose formal strategies and so on.

Some of these characteristics do also apply here, however the (perceived) necessity to use some text for the piece because of the presence of a singer lead to a slightly different approach. In "saying the same thing 14 times over", 14 different texts, from different authors across time(s), in different contexts and from different parts of the globe, are used to say, essentially, the same thing. This is also reflected in the flute part which is based on a recurring set of pitches.

This is a live recording of the piece from the first performance which took place on May 25th, 2025, at Neue Musik in St. Ruprecht, Vienna, with the very fabulous performers Kaoko Amano (Soprano) and Kovač (Flutes).


saying the same thing 14 times over - IV (after Li Bai)



This is the ninth piece out of a cycle of 14 pieces (hence the title) for Soprano and Flute, which I wrote for Kaoko Amano (Soprano) and Iva Kovač (Flutes). The cycle belongs, in a way, to a number of pieces under the collective identifier "exercises in transience", this one being the seventh "exercise". The unifying idea behind the pieces in this work series is not any kind of musical of formal aspect, but rather their metaphorical content, as in a way all of the pieces aim to work with the sensation of transient, passing life, transient reality, being mortal. There are no clear-cut indications as to how this needs to be adressed in a piece for it to belong to the series, however they do tend to feature similarly fragile sounds, partially unstable constellations, loose formal strategies and so on.

Some of these characteristics do also apply here, however the (perceived) necessity to use some text for the piece because of the presence of a singer lead to a slightly different approach. In "saying the same thing 14 times over", 14 different texts, from different authors across time(s), in different contexts and from different parts of the globe, are used to say, essentially, the same thing. This is also reflected in the flute part which is based on a recurring set of pitches.

This is a live recording of the piece from the first performance which took place on May 25th, 2025, at Neue Musik in St. Ruprecht, Vienna, with the very fabulous performers Kaoko Amano (Soprano) and Kovač (Flutes).


saying the same thing 14 times over - IX (after Yuan Hongdao)

www.hannesdufek.com // hannes_dufek@gmx.net

I am a Vienna-based composer, improviser and musician. Mostly contemporary / new music, with an emphasis on socials space(s) and agencies emerging from artistic practice. Maybe consequently, I am also very interested in making music and sound for theatre and/or theatrical pieces, or other ways of working with music and sound beyond the finite space of concert practice.  

www.hannesdufek.com

Freelance composer, sound artist, improviser and musician * Dad of two (2020, 2023) * Co-founder and long-time chairman of Ensemble Platypus (2006-2019) * Member of makemake produktionen (2011-2017) * As of 2019 holder of a doctoral degree (Dr.artium)* Educator at MDW / Vienna (2023)

Some scores are available at Verlag Neue Musik and via babelscores
http://www.verlag-neue-musik.de 
https://www.babelscores.com/HannesDufek

Other links you might be interested in:
www.platypus.or.at
www.makemake.at

New tracks tagged #Kaoko Amano