Akrostichon-Wortspiel (Acrostic-Wordplay)

Composer’s note:
“Akrostichon-Wortspiel consists of seven scenes from the fairy tales The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. The selected texts have been worked upon in different ways: sometimes the consonants and vowels have been randomly joined together, at other times the words have been read backwards so that only the symbolic meaning remains.
All seven pieces are constructed around a controlling pitch centre, but they are fully differentiated from one another in their means of expression. Each portrays a different situation or emotional state, as describe in the fairy-tales, ranging from the bright to the grotesque.
The tunings of some of the instruments are adjusted between a quarter and a sixth of a tone to achieve a refined microtonality. The solo soprano fluctuates between these two tuning systems, depending upon which she is aware of at any time.”
U. C.