QUINTON presents Wolfgang Puschnig’s contemporary opera “Das Kirchlein von Tauern”.
To mark the 25th anniversary of Quinton Records and Wolfgang Puschnig’s 70th birthday, the music label is striking a whole new note with Wolfgang Puschnig. Puschnig, known as co-founder of the Vienna Art Orchestra and a long-standing collaborator of QUINTON, steps away from his usual genre here to present himself as a sensitive musical dramatist who combines traditional narrative forms with a modern musical language. The libretto, written by Antonio Fian, is based on an old Carinthian legend about the origins of the church of St. Anton am Tauernteich in the Ossiacher Tauern.
“Rooted in Carinthia’s world of legends”
With “Das Kirchlein von Tauern”, the classical music label QUINTON Classical presents an extraordinary work of musical theatre that is deeply rooted in the folklore of Carinthia whilst simultaneously unfolding a contemporary musical language. The short opera, composed in 2023 for the Carinthian Summer by the renowned Austrian musician and composer Wolfgang Puschnig, offers a new perspective on an artist who has hitherto gained international recognition primarily as an outstanding jazz saxophonist.
The story unfolds as a poetic and dramatic parable about love, guilt and atonement: the fisherman Jakob falls under the spell of a mermaid’s song, betrays his wife Magdalena and thereby sets off a chain of tragic events culminating in a deluge and the death of the young couple.
“But, Your Majesty, a human man has insulted me and, by extension, our entire people!
You must avenge us!” Nixe, from the libretto by Antonio Fian
The mermaid herself is condemned, as penance, to help build that church. Only upon the completion of the little church is she allowed to return to the water world.
In the musical realisation, catchy, song-like melodies meet finely nuanced, partly chromatic wind harmonies. Puschnig describes the underlying tone of his composition as characterised by a “light Carinthian melancholy” – an atmosphere that pervades the entire work. The result is a multi-layered sound that is reminiscent of stylised folk music whilst at the same time having an unmistakably contemporary feel. The vocal lines remain clearly intelligible at all times, supported by sensitively balanced instrumentation that leaves plenty of space for the voices.
The alternation between standard German and dialect creates a particularly dramatic effect: whilst the narrator and main characters speak in formal language, the commenting choir uses the Carinthian dialect, thereby evoking the tradition of regional folk song.
The world premiere of “Das Kirchlein von Tauern” took place on 8 July 2023 at a location as impressive as it is authentic – right by the Tauernteich near Ossiach, the very setting of the legend itself. This close connection between music, landscape and narrative also characterises this recording, making it a compelling listening experience that bridges the gap between myth and the present day.
With this production, QUINTON Classical once again underlines its commitment to presenting extraordinary works outside the established repertoire and making musical cross-genre explorations accessible to a wide audience.