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Left to right: Manfred Triech, Director Goethe Institute, James McKee, Sound Designer, Klaus Schöning, Dramaturge, Robert Goss, Translator & Director.

rhttps://youtu.be/V2ze933yu78

What is Hörspiel

A discussion with Klaus Schöning and Erik Bauersfeld on the art of Hörspiel, recorded beside a swimming pool at Big Sur Lodge on the California coast. Children splashing in the water became the immediate acoustic example for the discussion.

Klaus: “I think that in any situation in which you are, if you open your ears to the sounds and to the acoustic life around you… we can call this a Hörspiel. It may be regarded as a tendency in the arts to open your minds to the reality. The shortest definition is by Ernst Jandl. He called Hörspiel a double imperative: Hör means “listen!” and spiel means “play!”.

 

Five Man Humanity by Ernst Jandl & Ferederike Mayröcker

Translated by: Robert Goss

Directed by: Robert Goss & Klaus Mehrländer (WDR)

Performed by: Sigrid Wurschmidt with Leo Downey, Jack Shearer, Jude Haukom, David Frank, Steve LeGrand, Wallace Gorell, David Parr, Jeffrey Johnson and Daniel Goss.

“This brief work, (17 minutes) is a classic in the WDR repertory, becoming in recent years a favorite with school children. The poets, Jandl and Mayröcker, have combined their abstract acoustical art style with the theme of militarism: As in a Mother Goose poem, five men are born, grow up, educated, conscripted into the World War, imprisoned, tried and executed, then are born again.” Klaus Schöning.

Wind and Sea by Peter Handke

In this largely acoustical work, the author directed and contributed the sound of his own breathing, simulating the sea. A brief discussion about the production, with Klaus Schöning and Erik Bauersfeld, was recorded on an ocean beach along the Northern California coast.

Five Man Humanity by Ernst Jandl & Frederike-Mayröcker

The original WDR Production introduced by Klaus Schöning.

 

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