The cycle of poems “novembrig” by the Swiss lyricist Elsbeth Maag describes the naturalness of dying and death as a self-evident stage within the perpetual process of becoming and passing. Tenderly and encouragingly, the poet approaches this preferably repressed topic in vivid images. She succeeds in creating verses of captivating sensuality that are conciliatory while preserving the mystery. Ulrich Zeitler’s setting of “novembrig” from 2021/22 was initiated by the Swiss cultural promoter Alois Bischof. It is based on the poet’s standard German version from 2017 of the text originally written in Swiss dialect in 1997. Zeitler’s composition is inspired by the richness of colours and images evoked by the lyricist’s concise, powerful words. It sensitively explores the atmospheric density, the unspeakable, which can only be found in between the lines. The diverse layers of the topic create a cosmos of sounds that makes the heavy become light.
