Chamber Music Violin
SKU: PR.144407530
Composed by Lauren
Bernofsky. 12 pages.
Duration 10 minutes, 30
seconds. Merion Music
#144-40753. Published by
Merion Music
(PR.144407530).
ISBN
9781491136614. UPC:
680160687992.
A
violinist herself, Lauren
Bernofsky has described
SONATA FOR SOLO VIOLIN as
drawn from
autobiographical
inspiration, including
gestures from Bachâ??s
beloved Partita in E
Major. Bernofsky opens
with a Preludio movement
whose references to Bach
may be disguised, but
they are surely lurking.
The second movement is
lusciously contrapuntal
with the idiomatic
finesse of a violinist
composing for her own
instrument, while
musically journaling the
emotional pain of living
through 2020. The third
and final movement is
aptly marked
â??white-hot,â? and
the music certainly
is.
My SONATA FOR SOLO
VIOLIN was commissioned
by violinist Megan Healy
as part of The Maud
Powell Project, which
celebrated the 100th
anniversary of the
ratification of the 19th
Amendment. The project
included the creation of
five new works for solo
violin inspired by and
dedicated to the memory
of pioneering American
violinist Maud Powell
(1867-1920). Healy
premiered the sonata on
May 8, 2021 at PianoForte
Studios in Chicago.Among
the works Powell most
frequently performed in
her recitals was the
â??Preludioâ?
movement from Bachâ??s E
major Partita, and I
decided to refer to that
music in my own first
movement, also titled
â??Preludio.â? The
beginning subtly reflects
Bachâ??s opening
three-note motive,
wherein the music dips
down a semitone and then
comes back up. This
melodic material returns
throughout the movement
in various forms. I also
refer to Bachâ??s
sixteenth-note dominated
texture, and the gesture
in the third measure,
which outlines a perfect
fifth and then fills it
in with notes that
alternate between a scale
and a pedal tone. The
corresponding passage in
my piece occurs in the
same place, measure 3.
Apart from these
references to Bach, my
sonata is much more
modern sounding,
especially in its
chromatic character.I was
still thinking of
Bachâ??s solo violin
writing while composing
the second movement,
particularly the
polyphonic nature of the
slow movements, where the
melodic interest moves
around between the
voices. Emotionally, I
wanted my movement to
reflect the acute sadness
I had been experiencing
over the political and
social situation in the
United States as I wrote
the piece. I realized
that this is a
historically noteworthy
time in U.S. history,
marked not only by
political unrest, but
also by a challenge to
the very values that I
consider essential to
what makes a person
fundamentally human. I
wanted to create a record
of that pain in my
music.The final movement
is marked
â??White-hot.â? It is
imbued with a relentless,
passionate intensity.
Wanting again to reflect
aspects of our own time,
I included glissandi that
refer to rock music,
specifically the
â??fall-offsâ? I
frequently hear played by
electric guitarists. I
borrowed from another
(completely different)
musical tradition as
well, one that is
near-and-dear to my
heart: Klezmer. Klezmer
(Eastern European Jewish
folk music) is
characterized in part by
scales colored by
augmented seconds, and is
often performed by solo
instrumentalists who
improvise embellishments
like quick grace notes.
The second, more lyrical
theme in this movement is
my nod to Klezmer
style.While this piece is
an homage to Maud Powell,
I also think of it as my
own musical
autobiography, as it
combines some of my
favorite aspects of
music, and is played on
my own instrument.
