Guitar
SKU:
FG.55011-324-4
Composed by Kai Nieminen.
Fennica Gehrman
#55011-324-4. Published
by Fennica Gehrman
(FG.55011-324-4).
ISBN
9790550113244.
Quad
ri Morandi (2014) ties
together two essential
themes of Kai Niminen's
(b. 1953) compositional
style: guitar and a
subject inspired by
Italy. The strong
presence of the guitar in
his works is natural
since he is in an
actively performing
guitarist himself, and
guitar works indeed play
a significant role in his
oeuvre. Moreover, he has
written plenty of
orchestral music; for
instance two symphonies,
numerous concertos, and
chamber music. In the
field of Finnish music he
is a composer who can be
characterized as free
from any specific school
or style. In his musical
language, free tonal in
essence, one can detect
traces of Impressionism,
Neoromanticism and even
Expressionism at times,
but he is also willing to
employ more recent
20th-century stylistic
devices. Nieminen has
mentioned that he finds
himself very similar to
Japanese Toru Takemitsu
both musically and in
thought.
Mediterannean culture and
Italy especially have
been close to Nieminen's
heart ever since he first
visited the country and
appeared in the jury of
the international
Fernando Sor guitar
competition in 1981. He
has composed a great
number of works which
refer to Italian
landscapes or artists.
The work Quadri Morandi
(Morandi's pictures) is
written in four
movements. It has at its
centre the painter
Giorgio Morandi
(1890-1964), who is known
as a master of still
lifes and landscapes
painted in a plain manner
and is subdued colours.
Their atmosphere
typically reflects a calm
spirit. This is the third
guitar work that nieminen
has written for Kleemola.
It is easy to
find a counterpart for
the encaptivating realm
of Morandi's art in
Nieminen's clear and pure
expression. The titles
and expression markings
also include several
references to Morandi.
For example, in the
opening movement Prelude
the words la Natura morta
(still life) appear as an
additional note on the
chord sequence following
the freely flowing
opening section. At the
end of the movement one
can hear rhythmic motif
coloured with flageolets
that repeats the
syllables of the
painter's name: Gior-gio
Moran-di. A similar motif
can be heard at the end
of the second movement
Quasi cadenza. The
tranquilly breathing
third movement Paesaggio
(landscape) creates an
illusion of landscape by
imitating the echo of
monastery bells (come
campane del monastero)
and at the same time
refers to il monaco (the
monk), the name by which
Morandi was often called.
The final movement
Ritratto (Portrait) is
the most extensive of all
the movements and can be
seen, with its recurring
motifs, as a reflection
of the stable yet subtly
varying elements of
Morandi's art. The work
ends with the rhythmic
motif that once more
echoes Morandi's name,
like signature.
