"The spoken word poem only becomes effective when it is read aloud" said Ernst Jandl (1925-2000), the undisputed best interpreter of his own works. Whether sound poems, poems in "run-down language" or quatrains called "Stanzen", only Jandl's art of speaking made them sound adequate. In order to rescue this impressive, unmistakable voice and Jandl's poetic work from oblivion, Christian Muthspiel composed "vom Jandln zum Ernst" for his unorthodox jazz orchestra ORJAZZTRA VIENNA, creating the illusion of a live performance with Ernst Jandl, whose voice, extracted from various recordings, acts as the main soloist. Muthspiel performed together with Jandl in the 1980s and after Jandl's death performed the solo performance "für und mit ernst", in which he formed a duo with Jandl's voice, over one hundred times. His decades-long preoccupation with the work of Jandl, who was himself an ardent jazz fan, culminates here in a one-and-a-half-hour oratorio for poet's voice and seventeen jazz soloists to mark the centenary of his birth.
The two concerts will be ORJAZZTRA VIENNA's last in Vienna, as Christian Muthspiel is retiring from the stage at the end of 2025. (Press release)