Henrik Dewes - Elixier

Elixier is a piece for Guitar Solo. It is based on Franz Schubertˋs Doppelgänger and E.T.A. Hoffmann‘s Elixiere des Teufels.

In Elixier (after Franz Schuberts "Doppelgänger" and E.T.A. Hoffmanns "Elixiere des Teufels"), one of the last songs from Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang is interwoven with E.T.A. Hoffmann's Elixiere des Teufels. Even though the score only uses a quote from Hoffmann's chilling novel as a performance instruction, it seemed important to me to mention the story of the brother Medardus and his experience of reality as an important source of inspiration for this guitar piece.
„Ich bin das, was ich scheine und scheine das nicht, was ich bin, mir selbst ein unerklärlich Rätsel, bin ich entzweit mit meinem Ich.“
"I am what I appear to be and do not appear to be what I am, an inexplicable mystery to myself, I am at odds with my own self."
What fascinates me most in Elixiere des Teufels is the blurring of reality and unreality. Hoffmann's perspective is that of an unreliable first-person narrator who is sometimes Medardus, sometimes a count, sometimes his supposed doppelganger who experiences all kinds of fantastic stories. It remains completely vague as to which account the reader can actually trust Medardus
(who is maybe or maybe not committing all the murders.)
This perspective reminded me of Schubert's song Der Doppelgänger, in which Schubert dramaturgically stages the moment in which Heinrich Heine's lyrical ego sees his or her doppelganger in the most extraordinary way.
The guitar seemed to me to be the right instrument to bring these fantastic romantic worlds together. Schubert's songs were, of course, frequently arranged for guitar (and voice) during his lifetime, and he himself owned several guitars made by renowned guitar makers such as Stauffer and Enzensperger. In fact, the piano accompaniment in his songs often seems to be reminiscent of guitar chords.
In Elixier, I tried to process the topos of the doppelganger with the real world of "normal" guitar playing "in front of" the fretting hand and the unreal world of tones "behind" the fretted note. My main aim was to combine Schubert's simple harmonic framework (which is heard at the beginning on the strings "behind" the real notes) with Hoffmann's obscure narration.
To make sure every interpreter can get the actual pitches, I have decided to also notate the microtonal deviations as they sound on my personal guitar. I am aware that these are different microtonal deviations on all guitars. For me, however, there is also a beauty in this, which is expressed in the fact that each performer may find his/her own doppelganger on the „other side“ of the string.

Video by ​⁠Christian Fergo ‪@soundlitfilms9660‬
Audio by Amrit Beran @t‪@terza_piccarda‬
Composition and Interpretation by Henrik Dewes