Description
The work was composed in 1984. Four concise movements are loosely strung together in suite-like fashion. The calmly flowing movements Nos. 1 and 3 contrast sharply with the playful pizzicato intermezzo and the rhythmically aggressive finale.
Movement 1: A symmetrically structured piece of music The recitative-like melody first develops into a wave-like soundscape, then into a constantly growing trill field. After the climax, the soundscape repeats itself, and at the end the idea of the beginning resounds.
Movement 2: Pizzicato Intermezzo Almost aleatoric in conception at the beginning, mixed with knocking sounds, in the middle section a twelve-tone quadruple canon, rising to fortissimo; the return: figurative play of various repeating tone groups; at the end, the grimace of a “cadence.”
Movement 3: Question and Answer Like the first movement, this movement is also introduced by a recitative-like fragmentary idea; then the narrow-range main melody emerges first in the violas, later in the solo violin, framed by a wide-ranging (twelve-tone) chordal surface. After an imitative, calmly moving intermediate section, the bass recitative and the “core” melody are repeated, ending in pianissimo.
Movement 4: Finale giocoso The movement begins with rhythmically aggressive sounds over an ostinato bass movement, transitioning to fast four- and six-note passages that spiral ever higher, punctuated by b-a-c-h motifs in the basses. The coda takes up the thematic structures of the beginning and leads to the liberating final chord. Conclusion: Homo ludens overcomes homo prudens! Marginal notes by the composer on the “Frescoes.”
(Jürg Baur)
MM 2304120
hire material
Description
The work was composed in 1984. Four concise movements are loosely strung together in suite-like fashion. The calmly flowing movements Nos. 1 and 3 contrast sharply with the playful pizzicato intermezzo and the rhythmically aggressive finale.
Movement 1: A symmetrically structured piece of music The recitative-like melody first develops into a wave-like soundscape, then into a constantly growing trill field. After the climax, the soundscape repeats itself, and at the end the idea of the beginning resounds.
Movement 2: Pizzicato Intermezzo Almost aleatoric in conception at the beginning, mixed with knocking sounds, in the middle section a twelve-tone quadruple canon, rising to fortissimo; the return: figurative play of various repeating tone groups; at the end, the grimace of a “cadence.”
Movement 3: Question and Answer Like the first movement, this movement is also introduced by a recitative-like fragmentary idea; then the narrow-range main melody emerges first in the violas, later in the solo violin, framed by a wide-ranging (twelve-tone) chordal surface. After an imitative, calmly moving intermediate section, the bass recitative and the “core” melody are repeated, ending in pianissimo.
Movement 4: Finale giocoso The movement begins with rhythmically aggressive sounds over an ostinato bass movement, transitioning to fast four- and six-note passages that spiral ever higher, punctuated by b-a-c-h motifs in the basses. The coda takes up the thematic structures of the beginning and leads to the liberating final chord. Conclusion: Homo ludens overcomes homo prudens! Marginal notes by the composer on the “Frescoes.”
(Jürg Baur)
Table des matières
| 1. | Sostenuto, con moto |
| 2. | Intermezzo: Allegro |
| 3. | Andante tranquillo |
| 4. | Allegro molto |
Première représentation
World premiere: Saarbrücken, November 28, 1985