Concertante Fantasia

Toccata (changing tempos) – Meditation (Andante) – Finale (changing tempos)

The three-movement concerto refers to themes and motifs by Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, and Berg in various combinations and constellations. Each of the three movements is structured as a multi-part free fantasia; dodecaphonic structures are combined with free tonality: music caught between constraint and freedom. A short B-A-C-H introduction leads directly into the first movement. At the end of multiple virtuoso recitative attempts (organ), there is always a thematic-rhythmic chord block (strings). Canonical motif reductions based on the B-a-c-h motif lead to an expressive interlude on the organ; further urgent crescendos (alternating organ and strings) lead to cluster sounds from the solo instrument, a triple close-spaced canon from the strings, finally culminating in a tutti apotheosis with the varied B-a-c-h motif. 2nd movement An organ pedal solo quotes the beginning of the chorale: “Es ist genug” (It is enough), linked to the B-a-c-h motif; a chromatic theme sounds on the manual, and in the interplay between strings and organ, another expressive idea develops in the basses, leading to a wide-ranging, constantly intensifying trill surface in the strings; the organ contrasts this with polyphonic structures using Scarlatti’s “cat fugue theme,” the B-a-c-h motif, and the chorale line “Aus tiefer Not” (From deep distress). After a tonal climax in the tutti, a quiet andante section with new thematic material leads to a wave-like string soundscape. The recapitulation repeats the first two ideas of the movement and concludes with Alban Berg’s “mystical” chord (Op. 4) – a far-reaching meditation. Finale The Scarlatti fugue theme, spread out in chords on the organ, opens the aggressive finale, in which ostinato bass figures initially dominate, punctuated by rhythmic cluster chords on the organ. In the middle section of the movement, a multi-layered canon develops over the Scarlatti theme in both instrumental groups, culminating in a quasi-baroque “Alla marcia” in the style of Handel’s Organ Concerto in G minor. The last section of the movement intensifies with fast four- and six-note passages, accompanied by rhythmic B-a-c-h motif impulses in the bass. In the dramatic coda, the Scarlatti theme and the B-a-c-h motif meet. The piece ends on a sombre note in C minor.
(Jürg Baur)