Manet Res (‘The Thing Itself’) is a setting of twelve lines from Titus Lucretius Carus’ 1st-century BCE epic poem of science and philosophy De Rerum Natura (‘On the Nature of Things’). The text expresses a proto-humanist view about religion, its roots and its dangers (which Lucretius identifies as the ‘false terror’ of death which causes greed and bloodshed). It also mocks religious rituals; among other practices long since out of date, Lucretius also specifically chastises those who wear headscarves (wearing one is ‘no piety’, he says). Mostly, however, De Rerum Natura is about the wonder of nature, and the pleasure of calmly, rationally appreciating it, without ascribing its myriad beauties and terrors to any supernatural beings (the most pious thing one can do is to ‘survey all things with a tranquil mind’). The music, following the thrust of the text, is restless, disjointed, unsettled, somewhat angry, but very precise. It explores the idea of fast rhythms without an audible pulse. As the piece progresses, the singer and piano become more and more independent, both in terms of pitch and rhythm, ending finally with three very different simultaneous textures: a long held note in the bass, extremely fast material in the highest octave of the piano, and the singer singing the very first lyrical melody in the middle range. Manet Res was written for the tenor Erik Enqvist in April 2007.