Works

Luigi Nono
La fabbrica illuminata (1964)
Testo di Giuliano Scabia - e un frammento da "Due poesie a. T" di Cesare Pavese
for Soprano and Four channels tape

Length: 17:00
Editor: Ricordi

factory of the dead they used to call it
workers' exposure
to burns
to noxious fumes
to vast bodies of molten steel
workers' exposure
to soaring temperatures
8 hours' work - 2 hours' worth in the worker's pocket
workers' exposure
to projectile materials
human relations to speed things up

workers' exposure
to falls
to blinding lights
to high-voltage current
how many MAN-MINUTES to die?

and they don't stop HANDS assailing
NON-STOP which hollow out the hours
to the BODY naked they grasp
dials, faces: and they don't stop
they look LOOK staring eyes: eyes
hands
evening going round the bed
all my nights but barren orgasms
THE WHOLE town from the LIVING dead
we ceaselessly PROTESTS
the crowd swells talks of the DEAD MAN
the cabin known as GRAVE
they slash throughout time
factory as concentration camp
KILLED

the mornings will pass
the anguish will pass
it will not be so forever
you will recover something

(text from Richard Bernas)