Work Text:
The following document was found in a basement in Vienna.
From the file of David M., resident of the Fuggeri Insane Asylum—
A series of music manuscripts collected by his son Franz M, passed down to his son Leopold, and then to his son W[name obscured] M., the composer, in the hopes that one day they might be understood.
Manuscript One – Motet #30, Op. 152 “Turn Around”
A piece for solo female voice, with male vocal accompaniment, choral accompaniment, fortepiano, and percussion. Notable for its instruction to be played in a large hall with the audience seated as far from the performers as possible, to preserve “the natural reverberations of the holy plea of the female vocalist”.
Manuscript Two – Madrigal #14, Op. 196 “Watching You”
A piece for solo male voice, with choral accompaniment, pizzicato bass violin, violin quartet, pianoforte, percussion, and an instrument described as “a guitar made with iron strings, played against a magnet”. The lyrics describe a search for an unknown entity and reflect the composer’s obsession.
Manuscript Three – Fugue in C# Minor, Op. 105 “Made of This”
A duet for two female voices, with string accompaniment and percussion. Describes the source of the composer’s obsession—the music that he claimed to hear in his dreams. The composer tries to justify his mania by claiming “Everybody’s looking for something”.
Manuscript Four – Madrigal #23, Op. 107 “Hast du etwas Zeit für mich?”
The only German-language song, written for solo female voice, with string and wind accompaniment, percussion, and the strange guitar described in the “Watching You” Madrigal. The lyrics depict a war over the sight of a large number of balloons—referencing strange, perhaps prophetic machinations of war, including “jet fighters”, “petrol”, and “Captain Kirk”.
Manuscript Five – The Ballad of Billie Jean, Op. 142
A piece for solo male voice, with string and choral accompaniment and percussion. Notable for its strange use of the voice’s falsetto, using staccato altissimo notes to punctuate nearly every line, requiring the vocalist to have precise control over their vocal range.
Manuscript Six – Motet #50, Op. 169 “Africa”
A piece for male choir, with string and wind accompaniment, and several strange percussion instruments, including a series of hollowed out and polished logs, struck by stone mallets. Its lyrics are obscure and one note mentions that Ethiopia’s Moon Mountain is not near the Maasailand, but the words had come to him that way.