Don't compromise, but still remain understandable

Martin Derungs was born in Chur on May 12, 1943. He was not closely related to the Graubünden musicians Gion Antoni Derungs, Gion Giusep Derungs and Urban Derungs, who were also composers. His father was the teacher Josef Derungs (1914-2002), who also made a name for himself musically, in particular as a choirmaster and music teacher.

Artistic career

Derungs received his first musical influences from his father and Lucius Juon (1913-2015), the charismatic church musician and founder of the Chur Singing School. He went on to study organ (Luigi Favini), piano (Hans Andreae) and composition (Paul Müller-Zürich) in Zurich. Further studies in composition then led him to Günter Bialas in Munich (1967-1971). He recalled that time with the following words: "I did exceptionally well with him. In contrast to Stockhausen or Boulez, he by no means tried to impose a specific tonal language on us - which would probably have been his own - and was very reserved in this respect. Nevertheless, we naturally listened to his works and appreciated them very much. What we learned from him first and foremost was the economy of means. If little comes to mind, you shouldn't write a symphony, but perhaps two miniatures."¹

Derungs taught harpsichord, basso continuo and chamber music at the State University of Music in Karlsruhe from 1980 to 1984. He was an editor at the music department of Swiss radio in Zurich and at the short-wave radio station "Deutsche Welle" in Cologne. However, Derungs was not cut out for this kind of work in the long term. "Radio work was interesting for me for a while, but after three years I'd had enough. A full-time job like this was too much for me. I didn't give any more concerts at all during this time, I just composed. I couldn't take it any longer, I had to get back on stage. So I went back to Zurich without a job in my pocket."²

Freelance musician

Derungs then remained essentially freelance. His largely voluntary commitments in the field of music promotion were numerous. He presided over the Musikerkooperative Schweiz, an association of improvising musicians, for four years. He was also president of the Schweizerischer Tonkünstlerverein for four years. He was a member of the program committee of the Künstlerhaus Boswil for nine years. He also chaired the Music Commission of the City of Zurich, where, among other things, scholarships and work years were awarded. Finally, he was in charge of the Musikkollegium Zürcher Oberland in Wetzikon for several years.

As a concert musician, he preferred the harpsichord. We remember, for example, a memorized rendition of the Well-Tempered Clavier, complemented by a piece of contemporary music in his typical manner.

Composer

To characterize his composing, let's let Martin Derungs himself have his say: "I was about 45 when I had found myself as a composer to the point where I could say: I do what I want, regardless of what others think. That was in the early eighties, when I realized what my style should be. Two factors were important for this: firstly, that I wrote quite a lot for vocals. I never wanted to bully the singers, but I always composed pieces that people liked to sing.

The second is the exploration of so-called early music. In this context, I wrote a whole series of new pieces for historical instruments such as the recorder, harpsichord or baroque violin. In the later eighties, I became interested in the world of music theater. The first major work in this genre that I was allowed to write was Grisons turmoil. Scenes around Jürg Jenatsch for the 700th anniversary celebrations in Davos. Three hundred people stood on stage in the final scene. Amateur choirs and no fewer than five orchestral groups were involved, spread across the huge scene.

I was also fascinated by the two projects that I was able to realize with the choir of the Bündner Kantonsschule. It's not a given that you can get fifteen to nineteen-year-olds excited about something like this. These young people had perhaps previously played a little Mozart on the piano and were now confronted with music that is probably not immediately accessible. In this project, one half was composed by me, the other half consisted of jazz. At first, of course, the young people responded primarily to jazz, but in the end they were rather oversaturated with it. But they told me that they had understood my pieces and enjoyed singing them. As a composer, it's important to me not to make any compromises and still remain understandable."³

Notes

1 Thomas, Stephan: Creating music and promoting music - the composer Martin Derungs, in: Grisons Yearbook 2013
2 Ibid
3 Ibid