Lachrimæ

Many theories have been ventured on this enigmatic collection, one of the most interesting being that it is a crypto-liturgy of Catholic Maundy Thursday to win the favor of Queen Anne; or that it is a reflection of the theories of melancholy very much in vogue at the time.

Whatever the motive behind this collection, every listener will find in it the possibility of a dense introspective journey, guided – but subtly, without impositions – by extremely evocative titles, to which one can give an autobiographical meaning: ancient tears, forced tears, lover’s tears…

Within the constant oscillation between the profane and the sacred, between nihilism and redemption, sometimes dazzling landscapes of light appear, like landscapes barely revealed by a flash in the middle of a thunderstorm, Hindemith would say: moments of sublime joy, of euphoria almost, where tears – as foretold in the preface – will rise from happiness.

For our reading we were inspired by the epigram on the cover page “Aut Furit, aut Lachrimat, quem non Fortuna beavit” (“O si infuria o pianto, chi non è benedetto dalla Sorte”):  we have conceived a retrospective story punctuated by dances and songs, the story of a man at his deathbed and the accounts he makes with his own Destiny”.