Dorothea Hofmann

Immerblau

Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945) wrote vivid, passionate poems—love poems and prayers—that are, at the same time, always inner monologues on the meaning of life. She stood between 19th-century bourgeois society and a hoped-for new world, open to independent, nonconformist women. Artistically successful as she was, she nevertheless always found herself in precarious situations, and from 1933 onward, her life became permanently uncertain: having emigrated to Switzerland, she was barred from working there and was considered "stateless" from 1938 onward. She died in Palestine, was buried on the Mount of Olives, and her grave has been destroyed. With their transparent soundscape, the four songs reinforce the intense imagery of the poems. All dynamics should be adapted collectively to the acoustic conditions. (Dorothea Hofmann)
The score (notated with sound symbols) is accompanied by separate parts for alto flute (in G) and viola.