In Das Theater der Wiederholungen (The Theatre of Repetitions),
Bernhard Lang confronts the dialectic inherent in repetition: it can put us into a trance state of self-forgetting (as he claims minimalist music often does), but on the other hand, it is a critical component in the process of learning and remembering.
Lang's synthesis involves subtly differentiated repetition that sounds very little like the repetitions of American-style minimalism. He breaks his larger musical structures into fragments that overlap polyphonically, or which are varied by temporal displacement, and he strategically limits the number of repeats. The result sounds like a kaleidoscope of constantly changing gestures, but with each gesture being repeated a few times, often with subtle variation, before moving on to the next. The technique is genuinely effective; if the musical material were played straight through without repeats, this would be a much shorter piece than its current 105 minutes, but the density of the material would leave the listener's head spinning. The repetition of short, discrete, gestures allows the listener to absorb, and form a connection with each gesture before it evolves into the next. The music is far friendlier and much less intimidating than the theoretical framework that
Lang used to generate it; it includes an eclectic range of evocative tonal colors, rich harmonies and memorable melodic fragments.
The non-narrative libretto is in three sections. The first, using texts by de Sade and Huysmans, is in French and is set in the eighteenth century. The second, in English, using texts by
William Burroughs, is set in the nineteenth century, and the third, set in the twentieth century, uses German texts derived from the Nuremberg trials and reports from concentration camps. Neither the libretto nor the CD's notes clarifies what stage action would be involved.
Johannes Kalitzke leads the performance by vocal soloists, the instrumental ensemble
Klangforum Wein, and the vocal ensemble Les Jeunes Soloistes. The performers sing and play with conviction and panache, making a convincing case for
Lang's unique musical language.