Spring. Empty land.

It is the beginning of spring. The Easter season is just around the corner. According to Christian tradition, the bells will soon fall silent. This premiere fits perfectly. The theme of "Spring. Empty Land." touches on many emotions of this time: fear of transience, life assessment, anticipation of a possible new beginning, painful losses, but also hope in dark days.

In a liminal world, a land in twilight, a small group of those who remember is on a journey. They find themselves between life and death – or between death and life. Like a childlike-messianic figure of light, the soprano voice of the boy tries to free the other wanderers from their apathy. In the end, a small flame shines out of "immeasurable darkness," which will bring new life.

With extraordinary instrumentation and composed in his diverse, highly individual, and intense sound language, Wolfgang Sauseng sets to music a libretto based on a story by the 22-year-old Ingeborg Bachmann. This completes a circle at Imago Dei: Sauseng (*1956), a prominent church musician and emeritus university professor, fulfills another major composition commission from the Chorus sine nomine under Johannes Hiemetsberger. In 2003, they already premiered Sauseng's "Passio Iesu" in the Klangraum.