temA was written in the summer of 1968. In spite of Ligeti’s “Aventures” it may be considered one of the first compositions in which the breathing plays a role as an acoustically transmitted energy process (Holliger, Globokar, Kagel, Schnebel and Stockhausen in “ Hymns” have already worked on this phenomenon independently of each other and from different points of view). Furthermore, “temA” marks for me the first step into that “musique concrète instrumentale” in which the mechanical conditions of the sound production are incorporated into the composition. This characterizes my later pieces such as Contracadence, Air, Pression etc. more consistently. In temA, unlike what happened in my previous works, the naturalistic extreme cases were consciously accepted but at the same time integrated into a very rigorous musical context which was also to give a new meaning to the traditional playing conceptions. The violation of the taboos felt in the nearly 70s (not only regarding this piece) lay to a less degree in the phenomenon of the sound deformation (snoring, pressed strings, soundless blowing etc.), since such an “alienation” was perfectly tolerated as a humoristic, dadaistic or expressionistic element. Rather the shock was caused by the technical logic of the movements which rendered relative the sheer surrealistic effect and had to be taken seriously instead of in a humoristic way.

(Helmut Lachenmann, translation: Roger Clément)