Mathias Rehfeldt - Vulnerable - VI - Surface (Stuttgart 2022)
16Music by Mathias Rehfeldt
Violin: Matthias Well
Cello: Maria Well
Bass: Dominik Wagner
Organ: Ruben Johannes Sturm
Accordeon: Vladislav Cojocaru
Vulnerable, fragile – a buzzword, slogan, or motto? Politics, medicine, and sociology make us rethink this theme daily. Ecology and climate research are confronted with it more than ever. The Corona crisis has dramatically shown us: social coexistence is a fragile construct. Theology reflects the concept at its core: God became human in Jesus Christ – Jesus was vulnerable. Could it be that comfort and strength arise precisely from this vulnerability?
Vulnerable is a commissioned composition for the Diocesan Museum Rottenburg under the direction of Melanie Prange.
The cycle "Vulnerable" centers on the process of psychological injury. In this context, vulnerability also involves confronting oneself. The six movements rapidly traverse different phases: starting with an excessively positive expectation that is not met, the music evolves into a deep melancholy, almost coming to a halt. The subsequent inner movement, stoically repetitive and seemingly without influence, emerges from this deep affliction and culminates in a final movement that is less positive but much more balanced, finding peace with oneself.
Vulnerability on another level is also intended to be palpable to the musicians. Parts of the composition are freely structured, providing only rough guidelines for the players, challenging them to spontaneously and freely improvise with the given tonal material and motifs.