1989. Stay in Aix-en-Provence, France, doing a language course. Reading, discussing and analyzing Les Géorgiques, this pursuit is going to be the foundation of the multiple intellectual and literary levels of my composing. 2. THE WOODEN PLATFORM IS COVERED WITH FINE WHITE SAND (OR SALT), THE TWO SHELVES WITH BLACK CLOTH ... At the time I work on my first serious piece, still a far cry from the under-standing of writing music I have today. « tellement froid que » (géorgiques I) for bass flute, electronics and scene (1995–96), sections 1–7. « comme si le froid » (géorgiques II) for baritone saxophone, timpani and piano (1998), sections 18–24. « n'était le froid » (géorgiques III) for orchestra (2000–2002), sections not yet decided. 3. THE INTERPRETER WILL BE DRESSED IN BLACK AND WHITE, MAINLY WHITE IF BLUISH LIGHT IS AT HAND ... The enormously rich vocabulary and the accuracy of expression – in temporal, spatial and material terms – is particularly impressive. To comprehend all of it, a “reading” on three different levels is called for: a first reading of one passage, then the acquisition of unknown vocabulary, thirdly a repeated – knowing – reading, which points out the utopia of precise expression: The text is treated in a rather problematic (cold: “le froid”?) manner: it’s not the semantic content that is primarily dominant, but rather the outward appearance, the “mise en page” and the syntactic structure. 4. THE INTERPRETER ENTERS THE STAGE WITH ALL THE FLUTES (S)HE WILL PLAY DURING THE CONCERT AND DEPOSITS THEM – EXCEPT FOR THE BASS FLUTE – ON SHELF B, IF (S)HE ONLY PLAYS THIS PIECE, (S)HE SHOULD PUT THE PROGRAMME OF THE CONCERT THERE, IN ANY CASE THE INSTRUCTIONS IN BAR 195 MUST BE FOLLOWED ... In concrete terms the 10 centimetres of a line in the “minuit” edition correspond to 10 seconds of musical structure (which is three times as slow as the average reading speed). Only seven years later is the term / expression “casse férique” changed into “casse ferrique”, and thus its secret is revealed, which almost becomes – due to its unreadability – the key to the planned musical cycle. The text is measured from section to section (big format: each section is marked with a continuous, „cold“ chord by the bass flute, played on tape recorder), from full stop to full stop (new entry of keynote material), from comma to comma (tripling of continuous resonances) etc. 5. DURING THE PERFORMANCE UP TO BAR 195, THE INTERPRETER WILL TRY – IN A KIND OF THEATRICAL ADAPTATION – TO EXPRESS HIS/HER OWN FEELING OF IRREPRESSIBLY GROWING FRUSTRATION, FROM BAR 195 ONWARDS (S)HE WILL DEFINITELY HAVE PUT UP WITH THE BASS FLUTE ... Brackets in the text bring about a reduction of sound (the differentiating micro tones are no longer used), the syntactical progression to subordinate clauses of the remotest degree has its immediate effect on dynamics (degree of volume). Then: the perception of a logical and yet erratic syntax, vastly progressive layers of subordinate clauses and brackets (lowering tone of voice?), a polyphony of „mémoire“, which leads to a maelstrom of attention, a tonally centric / concentrated (main material?) and progressive (subordinate and brackets-material?) reading, listening and proceeding. The different levels are constantly in touch – transferring the sensuous moment of scenes of bodily encounter (Tryptique) that are evoked again and again – in perpetual excitement of text and imagination, memory and remembering sensitivity. 6. THE BODY MOVEMENTS AND FIXATION (“FIGÉ”) , BOTH CLEARLY PERCEPTIBLE, WILL EVOKE AND SUPPORT THE SAME EMOTIONS ... The basic moods of the text will be reflected in the relationship (which is very important here) of the interpreter to the music, (s)he is somehow at the mercy of given (and not always transparent) structures on the one hand and the complexity of musical sensations on the other, which has to be defeated inspite of exhaustion. It’s not only here that semantic agreement (besides the “materialistic” structure) of music and text can be felt: On top of that there’s the existential helplessness in view of the mercilessly flowing polyphony of levels and events — as a mirror of this there are the remembered scenes of the Flemish cold in the second chapter (Les Géorgiques). The interpreters are confronted with unusual directions which correspond to the adjectives in the respective passages of the text: “anachronique”, “engourdi”, “glacé et âcre”, “monotone et désert” etc. The possibilities of interpretation are amplified, the ability to perceive and personal reaction is opened. The impression of this inexorability is multiplied in the extremest way by the fact that the particular layers can be found in Simon’s complete works. It's a continuous work of art in which each novel turns into a chapter of a complex, cyclic whole, its title denoting only one main strand, as it were. A personal comment is made also as regards the clearly defined stage, the mise en scène points out the extra-musical elements and the correlation between text, human being and music. 7. THE INTERPRETER IS ASKED TO MOVE FREELY WITHIN A DEFINED SPOT WITHOUT LOOKING “ARTIFICIAL”, SOUNDS CAUSED BY THE FEET MOVING ON THE SAND ARE WELCOME DURING THE WHOLE PIECE ... And here the idea of a cycle is born, an attempt to transfer these nuances of memorized structures, this clarity and coldness, to transform the text into musical material. Walter Feldmann