2014 Theses Doctoral

Glissando as a Metaphor in Beat Furrer's FAMA

Khumalo, Andile

The use of similar musical material from one work to another in Beat Furrer’s works is what unites them in an unmistakable identity. What makes each work unique, however, is the way new networks of meaning for the material become established as the composer reworks his material for a given work. I argue that in Furrer’s Hörtheater FAMA, composed in 2004-2005, the reworking of the glissando as a compositional resource is strongly influenced by the textual subject matter, Arthur Schnitzler’s monodrama Fräulein Else. Furrer’s presentation of the musical material acts as a musical staging of the title character. And like Schnitzler’s novel, FAMA can be viewed as a comment on political and cultural issues.