German and French fragments by Rilke from the years 1911 to 1921 form the basis of the text of this composition. Reimann sees Rilke in affinity with Kafka. The tonal language is not lost in dreams, as is often the case in Rilke settings, but dramatic and confrontational, culminating in the percussive hammering of the piano at the text passage: 'with two faces on the two fists'.

Schott Music