Cassatt. Composed
by Dan Welcher. Premiere:
Cassatt Quartet,
Northeastern Illinois
University, Chicago, IL.
Contemporary. Full score.
With Standard notation.
Composed 2007. WRT11142.
52 pages. Duration 24
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #164-00272S.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.16400272S).
UPC:
680160588442. 8.5 x 11
inches.
My third
quartet is laid out in a
three-movement structure,
with each movement based
on an early, middle, and
late work of the great
American impressionist
painter Mary Cassatt.
Although the movements
are separate, with
full-stop endings, the
music is connected by a
common scale-form,
derived from the name
MARY CASSATT, and by a
recurring theme that
introduces all three
movements. I see this
theme as Mary's Theme, a
personality that stays
intact while undergoing
gradual change. I
The Bacchante (1876)
[Pennsylvania Academy of
Fine Arts, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania] The
painting shows a young
girl of Italian or
Spanish origin, playing a
small pair of cymbals.
Since Cassatt was trying
very hard to fit in at
the French Academy at the
time, she painted a lot
of these subjects, which
were considered typical
and universal. The style
of the painting doesn't
yet show Cassatt's
originality, except
perhaps for certain
details in the face.
Accordingly the music for
this movement is
Spanish/Italian, in a
similar period-style but
using the musical
signature described
above. The music begins
with Mary's Theme,
ruminative and slow, then
abruptly changes to an
alla Spagnola-type fast
3/4 - 6/8 meter. It
evokes the
Spanish-influenced music
of Ravel and Falla.
Midway through,
there's an accompanied
recitative for the viola,
which figures large in
this particular movement,
then back to a truncated
recapitulation of the
fast music. The overall
feeling is of a
well-made, rather
conventional movement in
a contemporary
Spanish/Italian style.
Cassatt's painting, too,
is rather conventional.
II At the Opera
(1880) [Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston,
Massachusetts]
This painting is one of
Cassatt's most well known
works, and it hangs in
the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston. The painting
shows a woman alone in a
box at the opera house,
completely dressed
(including gloves) and
looking through opera
glasses at someone or
something that is NOT on
the stage. Across the
auditorium from her, but
exactly at eye level, is
a gentleman with opera
glasses intently watching
her - though it is not
him that she's looking
at. It's an intriguing
picture. This
movement is far less
conventional than the
first movement, as the
painting is far less
conventional. The music
begins with a rapid,
Shostakovich-type
mini-overture lasting
less than a minute, based
on Mary's Theme. My
conjecture is that the
woman in the painting has
arrived late to the
opera, busily stumbling
into her box. What
happens next is a kind of
collage, a kind of
surrealistic overlaying
of two different
elements: the foreground
music, at first is a
direct quotation of
Soldier's Chorus from
Gounod's FAUST (an opera
Cassatt would certainly
have heard in the
brand-new Paris Opera
House at that time),
played by Violin II,
Viola, and Cello. This
music is played sul
ponticello in the melody
and col legno in the
marching accompaniment.
On top of this, the first
violin hovers at first on
a high harmonic, then
descends into a slow
melody, completely
separate from the Gounod.
It's as if the woman in
the painting is hearing
the opera onstage but is
not really interested in
it. Then the cello joins
the first violin in a
kind of love-duet (just
the two of them, at
first). This music isn't
at all Gounod-derived;
it's entirely from the
same scale patterns as
the first movement and
derives from Mary's Theme
and its scale. The music
stays in a kind of
dichotomy feeling,
usually
three-against-one, until
the end of the movement,
when another Gounod
melody, Valentin's aria
Avant de quitter ce lieux
reappears in a kind of
coda for all four
players. It ends
atmospherically and
emotionally disconnected,
however. The overall
feeling is a kind of
schizophrenic,
opera-inspired dream.
III Young Woman in
Green, Outdoors in the
Sun (1909) [Worcester Art
Museum, Massachusetts]
The painting, one
of Cassatt's last, is
very simple: just a
figure, looking sideways
out of the picture. The
colors are pastel and yet
bold - and the woman is
likewise very
self-assured and not in
the least demure. It is
eight minutes long, and
is all about melody -
three melodies, to be
exact (Young Woman,
Green, and Sunlight). No
angst, no choppy rhythms,
just ever-unfolding
melody and lush
harmonies. I quote one
other French composer
here, too: Debussy's song
Green, from Ariettes
Oubliees. 1909 would have
been Debussy's heyday in
Paris, and it makes
perfect sense musically
as well as visually to do
this. Mary Cassatt
lived her last several
years in near-total
blindness, and as she
lost visual acuity, her
work became less sharply
defined - something akin
to late water lilies of
Monet, who suffered
similar vision loss. My
idea of making this
movement entirely melodic
was compounded by having
each of the three
melodies appear twice,
once in a pure form, and
the second time in a more
diffuse setting. This
makes an interesting two
ways form:
A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.
String Quartet No.3
(Cassatt) is dedicated,
with great affection and
respect, to the Cassatt
String Quartet, whose
members have dedicated
themselves in large
measure to the furthering
of the contemporary
repertoire for
quartet.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.164002720 Cassatt. Composed b...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.164002720
Cassatt. Composed
by Dan Welcher. Spiral
and Saddle. Premiere:
Cassatt Quartet,
Northeastern Illinois
University, Chicago, IL.
Contemporary. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation.
Composed 2007. WRT11142.
52+16+16+16+16 pages.
Duration 24 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#164-00272. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.164002720).
UPC:
680160573042. 8.5 x 11
inches.
My third
quartet is laid out in a
three-movement structure,
with each movement based
on an early, middle, and
late work of the great
American impressionist
painter Mary Cassatt.
Although the movements
are separate, with
full-stop endings, the
music is connected by a
common scale-form,
derived from the name
MARY CASSATT, and by a
recurring theme that
introduces all three
movements. I see this
theme as Mary's Theme, a
personality that stays
intact while undergoing
gradual change. I
The Bacchante (1876)
[Pennsylvania Academy of
Fine Arts, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania] The
painting shows a young
girl of Italian or
Spanish origin, playing a
small pair of cymbals.
Since Cassatt was trying
very hard to fit in at
the French Academy at the
time, she painted a lot
of these subjects, which
were considered typical
and universal. The style
of the painting doesn't
yet show Cassatt's
originality, except
perhaps for certain
details in the face.
Accordingly the music for
this movement is
Spanish/Italian, in a
similar period-style but
using the musical
signature described
above. The music begins
with Mary's Theme,
ruminative and slow, then
abruptly changes to an
alla Spagnola-type fast
3/4 - 6/8 meter. It
evokes the
Spanish-influenced music
of Ravel and Falla.
Midway through,
there's an accompanied
recitative for the viola,
which figures large in
this particular movement,
then back to a truncated
recapitulation of the
fast music. The overall
feeling is of a
well-made, rather
conventional movement in
a contemporary
Spanish/Italian style.
Cassatt's painting, too,
is rather conventional.
II At the Opera
(1880) [Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston,
Massachusetts]
This painting is one of
Cassatt's most well known
works, and it hangs in
the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston. The painting
shows a woman alone in a
box at the opera house,
completely dressed
(including gloves) and
looking through opera
glasses at someone or
something that is NOT on
the stage. Across the
auditorium from her, but
exactly at eye level, is
a gentleman with opera
glasses intently watching
her - though it is not
him that she's looking
at. It's an intriguing
picture. This
movement is far less
conventional than the
first movement, as the
painting is far less
conventional. The music
begins with a rapid,
Shostakovich-type
mini-overture lasting
less than a minute, based
on Mary's Theme. My
conjecture is that the
woman in the painting has
arrived late to the
opera, busily stumbling
into her box. What
happens next is a kind of
collage, a kind of
surrealistic overlaying
of two different
elements: the foreground
music, at first is a
direct quotation of
Soldier's Chorus from
Gounod's FAUST (an opera
Cassatt would certainly
have heard in the
brand-new Paris Opera
House at that time),
played by Violin II,
Viola, and Cello. This
music is played sul
ponticello in the melody
and col legno in the
marching accompaniment.
On top of this, the first
violin hovers at first on
a high harmonic, then
descends into a slow
melody, completely
separate from the Gounod.
It's as if the woman in
the painting is hearing
the opera onstage but is
not really interested in
it. Then the cello joins
the first violin in a
kind of love-duet (just
the two of them, at
first). This music isn't
at all Gounod-derived;
it's entirely from the
same scale patterns as
the first movement and
derives from Mary's Theme
and its scale. The music
stays in a kind of
dichotomy feeling,
usually
three-against-one, until
the end of the movement,
when another Gounod
melody, Valentin's aria
Avant de quitter ce lieux
reappears in a kind of
coda for all four
players. It ends
atmospherically and
emotionally disconnected,
however. The overall
feeling is a kind of
schizophrenic,
opera-inspired dream.
III Young Woman in
Green, Outdoors in the
Sun (1909) [Worcester Art
Museum, Massachusetts]
The painting, one
of Cassatt's last, is
very simple: just a
figure, looking sideways
out of the picture. The
colors are pastel and yet
bold - and the woman is
likewise very
self-assured and not in
the least demure. It is
eight minutes long, and
is all about melody -
three melodies, to be
exact (Young Woman,
Green, and Sunlight). No
angst, no choppy rhythms,
just ever-unfolding
melody and lush
harmonies. I quote one
other French composer
here, too: Debussy's song
Green, from Ariettes
Oubliees. 1909 would have
been Debussy's heyday in
Paris, and it makes
perfect sense musically
as well as visually to do
this. Mary Cassatt
lived her last several
years in near-total
blindness, and as she
lost visual acuity, her
work became less sharply
defined - something akin
to late water lilies of
Monet, who suffered
similar vision loss. My
idea of making this
movement entirely melodic
was compounded by having
each of the three
melodies appear twice,
once in a pure form, and
the second time in a more
diffuse setting. This
makes an interesting two
ways form:
A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.
String Quartet No.3
(Cassatt) is dedicated,
with great affection and
respect, to the Cassatt
String Quartet, whose
members have dedicated
themselves in large
measure to the furthering
of the contemporary
repertoire for
quartet.
Vistas. Composed
by Shulamit Ran. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation. 42 +
112 pages. Duration 25
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-40698.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.114406980).
UPC:
680160010806.
Shula
mit Ran’s second
string quartet, subtitled
“Vistas,â€
occupies a large canvas
that is cast in a
traditional fourmovement
mold, where the outer
movements present,
explore, and later return
to the work’s
principal musical
materials, surrounding a
slow movement and
scherzo-type third
movement with a trio. In
addition to tempo-based
titles, the individual
movements have subtitles
that are evocative of
each movement’s
character, as follows: I.
Concentric: from the
inside out II. Stasis
III. Flashes IV.
Vistas. My second
string quartet,
“Vistasâ€, is
a work cast in a
traditional four-movement
formal mold, with the
outer movements,
presenting and later
returning to the
work’s principal
musical materials,
surrounding a slow
movement and a
scherzo-type third
movement.While the four
movements’
“properâ€
names -- Maestoso con
forza, Lento, Scherzo
impetuoso, and
Introduzione; Maestoso e
grande – give some
indication of the general
character of the
individual movements, I
have also subtitled, less
formally, each movement
as follows:Â 1)
Concentric:Â from the
inside out 2)Â
Stasis 3) FlashesÂ
4) Vista. The images
evoked by these titles
tell one, I think, a bit
more about the inner
workings of the
quartet.In the first
movement, a prominently
presented opening pitch
(E) reveals itself, as
the movement unfolds, to
be a center of gravity
from which ever-growing
cycles of activity
gradually evolve.Â
While various important
themes come into being as
the movement progresses,
their impact on the
listener has, I believe,
a great deal to do with
their juxtaposition and
relationship to the
initial central point of
gravity.Stasis is, as the
name implies, a movement
where activity seems, at
times, almost
suspended. Being
also, as Webster’s
Dictionary reminds us,
“a state of static
balance and equilibrium
among opposing tendencies
or forces,†it
develops various
materials, including ones
from the first movement,
without bringing them to
points of
resolution.Flashes is
short and very fast,
evoking in my mind the
quick shimmer of
fireflies, a
“sudden burst of
lightâ€, but also a
“brief
timeâ€. Perhaps,
even, a
“smile�Final
ly, the last movement,
Vista, is not only
“a view or
outlookâ€, but also
“a comprehensive
mental view of a series
of remembered or
anticipated
events.â€Â After
a brief recall of the
opening of the second
movement, this movement
brings back all the
important themes of the
first movement in their
original order. But
just as going back can
never really mean going
back in time, the
movement is much more
than recapitulatory.Â
By cutting through
previously transitory
passages and presenting
the main ideas in a
fashion more direct yet
more evolved, it also
sheds new light on
earlier events, offering
a retrospective, synoptic
view of the first
movement as it brings to
culmination the work as a
whole. “Vistasâ
€ was commissioned by
C. Geraldine Freund for
the Taneyev String
Quartet of what was then
Leningrad. It was the
first commission given in
this country to a Soviet
chamber ensemble since
the 1985 cultural
exchange accord between
the Soviet Union and the
United States.
String Quartet (fem vce - str quar - electronics (tape) and projection of lyrics...(+)
String Quartet (fem vce -
str quar - electronics
(tape) and projection of
lyrics ad lib.)
SKU:
BR.KM-2483-07
Holderlin lesen
IV. Composed by Hans
Zender. Chamber music;
stapled.
Kammermusik-Bibliothek
(Chamber Music Library).
Music post-1945; New
music (post-2000). Study
Score. Composed 2000. 56
pages. Duration 40'.
Breitkopf and Haertel #KM
2483-07. Published by
Breitkopf and Haertel
(BR.KM-2483-07).
ISBN
9790004502587. 9 x 12
inches.
Friedrich
HolderlinMnemosyne Ein
Zeichen sind wir,
deutungslos,Schmerzlos
sind wir und haben
fastDie Sprache in der
Fremde verloren.Wenn
namlich uber MenschenEin
Streit ist an dem Himmel
und gewaltigDie Monde
gehn, so redetDas Meer
auch und Strome mussenDen
Pfad sich suchen.
ZweifellosIst aber Einer,
derKann taglich es
andern. Kaum bedarf
erGesetz. Und es tonet
das Blatt und Eichbaume
wehn dann nebenDen
Firnen. Denn nicht
vermogenDie Himmlischen
alles. Namlich es
reichenDie Sterblichen eh
an den Abgrund. Also
wendet es sich, das
Echo,Mit diesen. Lang
istDie Zeit, es ereignet
sich aberDas Wahre. Wie
aber Liebes?
SonnenscheinAm Boden
sehen wir und trockenen
StaubUnd heimatlich die
Schatten der Walder und
es bluhetAn Dachern der
Rauch, bei alter KroneDer
Turme, friedsam; gut sind
namlich,Hat gegenredend
die SeeleEin Himmlisches
verwundet, die
Tageszeichen.Denn Schnee,
wie MaienblumenDas
Edelmutige, woEs seie,
bedeutend, glanzet aufDer
grunen WieseDer Alpen,
halftig, da, vom Kreuze
redend, dasGesetzt ist
unterwegs
einmalGestorbenen, auf
hoher StrassEin
Wandersmann geht
zornigFern ahnend mitDem
andern, aber was ist
dies?Am Feigenbaum ist
meinAchilles mir
gestorben,Und Ajax
liegtAn den Grotten der
See,An Bachen, benachbart
dem Skamandros.An
Schlafen Sausen einst,
nachDer unbewegten
Salamis steterGewohnheit,
in der Fremd, ist
grossAjax
gestorben,Patroklos aber
in des Koniges Harnisch.
Und es starbenNoch andere
viel. Am Kitharon aber
lagEleuthera, der
Mnemosyne Stadt. Der
auch, alsAblegte den
Mantel Gott, das
Abendliche nachher
losteDie Locken.
Himmlische namlich
sindUnwillig, wenn einer
nicht die Seele schonend
sichZusammengenommen,
aber er muss doch;
demGleich fehlet die
TrauerIn meinen Holderlin
lesen-Stucken ging es mir
darum, Wege zu finden,
die gewaltigen
Sprachstrukturen
Holderlins so in die
zeitliche Form der Musik
zu integrieren, dass sie
Funktionen der
musikalischen Form
ubernehmen, ohne in ihrer
Eigenkraft (sowohl
akustisch wie auch im
Sinne expressiver
,,Deutung) im geringsten
geschmalert zu werden.
Das hiess zunachst:
Sprechen, nicht singen! -
Aber das wurde nur
bedeuten, dass es nicht
um die Musikalisierung
von Text geht; ebenso
wichtig ist es, dass es
auch nicht um
melodramatisch
,,erzahlende Musik geht.
Sondern: Zwei autonome
Kunste durchdringen sich
auf diaphane Weise, ohne
sich zu uberformen oder
auszuloschen; es handelt
sich um einen Dialog,
nicht um eine
Vereinnahmung durch
Hierarchisierung.Sind wir
uns selbst zu einem
,,Zeichen...deutungslos
geworden, wie es
Holderlins Anfangszeilen
sagen, so erscheinen auch
die Zeichen, die wir
selber setzen, sich immer
mehr einer Deutbarkeit zu
entziehen. Mein Stuck,
das den vollstandigen
Text von Holderlins
Mnemosyne integriert,
stellt auf seine Weise
die Frage nach dem
,,Zeichen. ,,Was ist
dies? Klang? Wort?
Schrift? Wie sind die
Grenzen, die Ubergange,
die gegenseitigen
Beeinflussungen der
einzelnen
Zeichenregionen? Was
liegt ihnen zugrunde?
Worte und musikalische
Zeichen bewegen sich im
Medium der Zeit;
Schriftzeichen erscheinen
zunachst als
Verraumlichung, aber man
muss daran erinnern, dass
der Vorgang des
Schreibens - wie er in
der ostasiatischen
Kalligraphie zu hochster
Kunst entwickelt wurde -
auch zeitlichen Charakter
hat. Mnemosyne - die
Kraft des Sich-Erinnerns
- schafft die Zeichen,
indem sie Gestalten durch
Wiederholung fixiert und
so aus dem endlosen Fluss
der wahrgenommenen
Vorgange herauslost. Die
so entstehende
artikulierte Zeit schafft
wiederum durch das
Wechselspiel von
fixierten und sich
bewegenden Gestalten das
Bewusstsein fur
differenzierte
Formablaufe. Der
Formverlauf meines
Stuckes zeichnet solche
genetischen Prozesse
nach. Der Horer wird
schnell merken, dass die
Wortzeichen oft einer
zuerst erscheinenden
musikalischen Klangwelt
entspringen (ich stimme
Walter Benjamin zu, wenn
er sagt, dass die Sprache
in ihrer grundlegenden
Schicht expressiven - und
nicht darstellenden -
Charakter hat). Die
Schrift auf der Leinwand
folgt zunachst den
sprachlichen Aktionen der
Stimme, erhalt dann aber
auch eigene Teile der
Form zugeteilt, in der
sie sich als autonomes
Zeichen darstellt. In der
durch die drei Strophen
Holderlins
notwendigerweise
dreiteiligen Gesamtform
gibt es immer wieder
Abschnitte, in denen
entweder das musikalische
Geschehen oder die
Sprachzeichen des
Gedichtes oder das
Sich-Schreiben der
Schrift im Vordergrund
stehen; der Komponist
versteht sich also hier
auch als ,,Zusammensetzer
der in unserer
Wahrnehmung so
verschieden besetzten
Zeiten des Schreibens,
Sprechens und
Musikhorens. Es bilden
sich im Verlauf des
40-minutigen Stuckes auch
Grenzfalle, wie ,,stumme
Musik oder total
musikalisierte - ihrer
Verstehbarkeit beraubte -
Textrezitation. Auch das
Singen von Text - in
meinen bisherigen
Holderlinstucken strikt
vermieden - wird als
ausserste Moglichkeit
gegen Ende des formalen
Prozesses zugelassen. An
einigen Stellen zeigt die
Musik sozusagen direkt
auf sich selbst. Es sind
Formzustande, die ich in
meinem ,,Shir Hashirim
als ,,Koan bezeichnet
habe: ,,endlose
Wiederholungen einer
zeichenhaften
Konstellation, bei jeder
Wiederholung minimal
verandert - so wie ein
Kalligraph sein
Schriftzeichen bei jedem
Malvorgang unwillkurlich
verandert und neu
schafft. Steht im ersten
Teil der Grossform der
Aspekt des Abstrakten,
des Unsinnlichen im
Vordergrund, so wird im
zweiten Teil
Bildhaftigkeit als
Eigenschaft nicht nur der
Sprache, sondern auch der
Musik betont: die
Landschaft, halb schnee -
halb blutenbedeckt, die
der Wanderer ,,zornig
durchstreift. Am Ende
dieses Teils wird das
Schriftbild selber zur
Landschaft, die der
Leser/Horer durchwandert.
Er wird im dritten Teil
durch einen
Verwandlungsprozess zu
den ekstatischen
Ursprungen des
holderlinschen Dichtens
gefuhrt, und damit zur
explizit musikalischen
Ebene: Die Totenklage um
Hektor und Ajax wird zum
,,dithyrambischen Tanz,
wie es Holderlins
Schlusszeile entwirft:
,,... darum fehlet die
Trauer. Es bleibt noch
nachzutragen, dass ich
den in der Stuttgarter
Ausgabe der Werke
Holderlins in drei
Versionen abgedruckten
Text in einer
Mischversion verwendet
habe: die erste Strophe
aus der 2. Fassung, die
zweite mit Abweichungen
und Widerspruchen aus
allen drei Fassungen, und
die dritte Strophe aus
der 3. Fassung. (Hans
Zender) CD:Salome Kammer
(voice), Klangforum Wien,
cond. Hans ZenderKairos
0012522KAIBibliography:Al
lwardt, Ingrid:
Nach-Lese. Holderlins
Gesang im Resonanzraum
der Musik Hans Zenders,
in: Hans Zender.
Vielstimmig in sich,
hrsg. von Werner
Grunzweig, Jorn Peter
Hiekel und Anouk Jeschke
(= Archive zur Musik des
20. und 21. Jahrhunderts,
Band 12), Hofheim: Wolke
2008, pp. 43-60.Fuhrmann,
Wolfgang: Zender lesen.
Die Frage nach dem
Zeichen in ,,Mnemosyne,
in: ,,Ein Zeichen sind
wir, deutungslos.
Holderlin lesen, Ikkyu
Sojun horen, Musik
denken, hrsg. von
Violetta L. Waibel,
Gottingen: Wallstein
2020, S. 194-211Pragungen
im Pluralismus. Hans
Zender im Gesprach mit
Jorn Peter Hiekel, in:
Orientierungen. Wege im
Pluralismus der
Gegenwartsmusik, hrsg.
von Jorn Peter Hiekel (=
Veroffentlichungen des
Instituts fur Neue Musik
und Musikerziehung
Darmstadt, Band 47),
Mainz u. a.: Schott 2007,
pp. 130-137.Mosch,
Ulrich: Ultrachromatik
und Mikrotonalitat. Hans
Zenders Grundlegung einer
neuen Harmonik, in: Hans
Zender. Vielstimmig in
sich, hrsg. von Werner
Grunzweig, Jorn Peter
Hiekel und Anouk Jeschke
(= Archive zur Musik des
20. und 21. Jahrhunderts,
Band 12), Hofheim: Wolke
2008, pp. 61-76.Schmidt,
Dorte: Erfahrung und
Erinnerung.
Kompositorisches Material
zwischen Klang und
Bedeutung in der
Kammermusik des spaten
20. Jahrhunderts, in:
Mnemosyne. Zeit und
Gedachtnis in der
europaischen Musik des
ausgehenden 20.
Jahrhunderts, hrsg. von
Dorothea Redepenning und
Joachim Steinheuer,
Saarbrucken: Pfau 2006,
pp. 41-58.Zenck, Martin:
Holderlin lesen seiner
Stimme zuhoren.
Holderlin-Lekturen von
Klaus Michael Gruber,
Hans Zender und Bruno
Ganz, in: Neue
Zeitschrift fur Musik 172
(2011), Heft 6, pp.
25-29.Zender, Hans: Zu
meinem Zyklus Holderlin
lesen, in: Mnemosyne.
Zeit und Gedachtnis in
der europaischen Musik
des ausgehenden 20.
Jahrhunderts, hrsg. von
Dorothea Redepenning und
Joachim Steinheuer,
Saarbrucken: Pfau 2006,
pp. 26-40.
World
premiere: Witten
(Wittener Tage fur neue
Kammermusik), May 4,
2001.
Holderlin lesen
III. Composed by Hans
Zender. Chamber music;
stapled.
Kammermusik-Bibliothek
(Chamber Music Library).
World premiere: Museum
Island Hombroich, May 31,
1992. Music post-1945;
New music (post-2000).
Performance score.
Composed 1991. 36 pages.
Duration 24'. Breitkopf
and Haertel #KM 2432.
Published by Breitkopf
and Haertel (BR.KM-2432).
ISBN 9790004502020. 10
x 15 inches.
In den
alten Kulturen war das,
was wir heute ,,Musik und
,,Dichtung nennen, eine
Einheit. Denken wir nur
an die lotrijgn<'
[musike] der Griechen,
oder an Beschreibungen,
die wir in den
klassischen chinesischen
Schriften finden. Aber
naturlich:
Kulturgeschichte ist ein
Differenzierungsprozess,
und so finden wir zur
Zeit unserer europaischen
Klassiker den Vorstoss
der Musik zu ihrer
,,Autonomie - ihrer
offiziellen Scheidung von
dem Metier der Dichter.
(Noch 1739 hatte
Mattheson in seinem
Vollkommenen
Capellmeister von jedem
Musiker ,,Gewandtheit in
der Dicht-Kunst und
genaueste Kenntnis der
Verslehre verlangt.)Seit
dieser Scheidung sind nun
die Musiker sehr eifrig
damit beschaftigt, eine
autonome Grammatik und
Syntax der ,,Tonkunst,
wie die Musik jetzt
genannt wird, zu
entwickeln, wahrend in
der Dichtung - besonders
naturlich in der
experimentellen, von Jean
Paul und Mallarme bis zu
Joyce und Celan - gerade
das ,,Musikalische in der
Poesie gesucht wird.
Hierunter ist oft der
Wunsch verborgen, die
Verhartung, welche die
Wortsprache durch ihre
begriffliche Fixierung -
extrem in der
Wissenschaft! - erfahrt,
wieder aufzuheben und sie
in einen ,,musikalischen
Zustand von
Unbestimmtheit, von
Offenheit zuruck zu
versetzen.Oberflachlich
betrachtet entwickeln
sich die beiden Kunste in
der Moderne also
auseinander; eine
Beruhrung zwischen ihnen
wird immer schwieriger.
Zu gross die Gefahr, dass
die muhsam errungene
Autonomie der einen
wieder der Ubermacht der
andern geopfert wird!
Entweder wird die Musik,
wenn sie schwach ist, zu
blosser Illustration und
Stimmungskulisse; oder
sie verschlingt in ihrer
klanglichen und
zeitlichen Ausformung den
eigenen Klang und
Rhythmus der
Dichtung.Manche Musiker
haben in den letzten
Jahrzehnten dieses
Problem noch
verinnerlicht und eine
Art Bilderverbot auch
innerhalb der Musik
aufgestellt: Gestik,
Expressivitat,
Assoziationsfahigkeit der
musikalischen Strukturen
wurden unterdruckt. Ich
halte das fur ein
neurotisches Verhalten
und ausserdem fur
irrefuhrend. Es gibt
schon seit jeher auch
eine musikalische
Semantik - das vergessen
manche vor lauter Syntax
und Grammatik; und es ist
kein Grund einzusehen,
warum in der Situation
der Autonomie nicht
musikalische und
sprachliche Semantik in
eine neue Art von
Verhaltnis treten
konnten. In der
Bach-Kantate, im
Schubert-Lied, in der
Wagnerischen Leitmotivik
waren das 1:1-Losungen;
aber schon Wagner hat
gezeigt, dass man diese
Identitat auch
dialektisch aufsprengen
kann.Und wie erst in der
Vielsprachigkeit der
heutigen Moderne! In
meiner Oper Stephen
Climax habe ich den
Hauptpersonen des Ulysses
von James Joyce bestimmte
- historisch ortbare -
Musiksprachen zugeteilt
(welche jeweils wieder
bestimmte intervallische
und rhythmische
Struktureigenschaften
zeigen, welche ihrerseits
wieder seriell oder
statistisch geordnet sind
- es geht bis ins
kleinste Detail ganz
,,autonom zu!!); der
Kosmos unserer
europaischen
Musikgeschichte wird
sowohl dem Kosmos der
Joyceschen Figuren
(ihrerseits
,,geschichtstrachtig!)
wie auch dem aktuellen
musikalischen Bewusstsein
zugeordnet, aber eben oft
auch uber Kreuz, paradox,
mehrschichtig, mehrdeutig
... Die Tatsache, dass
diese spezifische
Moglichkeit einer
neuartigen Einheit von
Sprache und Musik von den
berufenen Musikologen
noch kaum bemerkt worden
ist, zeigt nicht nur
deren Langsamkeit,
sondern auch die Dominanz
des ,,bildlosen Denkens
in der - jetzt
abgelaufenen - Phase der
Neuen Musik.In meinen
Holderlin lesen-Stucken
ging es mir darum, Wege
zu finden, die gewaltigen
Sprachstrukturen
Holderlins so in die
zeitliche Form der Musik
zu integrieren, dass sie
Funktionen der
musikalischen Form
ubernehmen, ohne in ihrer
Eigenkraft (sowohl
akustisch wie auch im
Sinne expressiver
,,Deutung) im geringsten
geschmalert zu werden.
Das hiess zunachst:
Sprechen, nicht singen! -
Aber das wurde nur
bedeuten, dass es nicht
um die Musikalisierung
von Text geht; ebenso
wichtig ist es, dass es
auch nicht um
melodramatisch
,,erzahlende Musik geht.
Sondern: Zwei autonome
Kunste durchdringen sich
auf diaphane Weise, ohne
sich zu uberformen oder
auszuloschen; es handelt
sich um einen Dialog,
nicht um eine
Vereinnahmung durch
Hierarchisierung.Ein
weiteres Thema, das in
der musikalischen
Diskussion der letzten
Jahrzehnte zu kurz
gekommen ist und deswegen
jetzt neu am Horizont
erscheint, ist die
Rhetorik. Inwieweit kann
musikalische Form nicht
nur logisch bzw.
syntaktisch, sondern auch
rhetorisch verstanden
werden? Rhetorik und
Satztechnik z.B. hangen
zusammen. Ich kann diese
Problematik (die ich in
meinem vierteiligen,
abendfullenden Shir
Hashirim ,,auskomponiert
habe) hier nur
andeuten.Musik steht
zwischen Zahl und Wort;
sie hat an beidem teil.
So konnte sie das Zentrum
der ,,Sieben Freien
Kunste in alten Zeiten
bilden ... (Heinrich
Schutz sagte, dass sie zu
diesen - also zu den
mathematisch-astronomisch
en und den literarischen
Kunsten - wie die ,,Sonne
zu den Planeten sich
verhalte.) Mir scheint,
dass wir die Komposition
seit 50 Jahren zu
einseitig nur von der
Zahl her definieren; sie
hat geschichtlich ebenso
viel mit Sprachstruktur
zu tun. Wir konnen
Neuland gewinnen, wenn
wir als heutige Musiker
dies neu durchdenken.Es
handelt sich hier um
meinen dritten Versuch
einer Annaherung an das
Problem einer
,,Verzeitlichung der
Holderlinschen Texte d.h.
einer Moglichkeit, diese
Texte in einer
Performance darzustellen:
da die Musik das
eigentliche Element der
zeitlichen Darstellung
ist, werden die
Holderlinschen Worte mit
Tonen konfrontiert.Im
Fall von denn
wiederkommen geht es um
neun Zeilen aus
Holderlins Patmos-Hymne.
Je eine solche Zeile wird
einem Formabschnitt der
Musik zugeordnet (das
Stuck ist also, wie meine
Lo-Shu-Stucke,
neunteilig). Die
betreffende Zeile
erklingt nicht nur
einmal, sondern wird, in
der gleichen Weise wie
auch das musikalische
Material, nach einem
chaotischen
Repetitionsprinzip
mehrfach
wiederholt.Auffallig ist
ferner, dass fur jeden
der neun Teile ein von
einem der vier
Quartettspieler
festgehaltener ,,Grundton
gewahlt wurde; durch
diese orgelpunktartige
Wirkung wird jeder der
neun Teile
zusammengehalten, und der
Horer kann die langsame
Bewegung der Grossform im
unmittelbaren Horprozess
mitvollziehen.Die neun
Satze von Holderlin
lauten:1. Furchtlos gehen
die Sohne der Alpen uber
den Abgrund weg auf
leicht gebaueten
Brucken...2. Sie horen
ihn und liebend tont es
wieder von den Klagen des
Manns...3. Im goldenen
Rauche bluhte schnell
aufgewachsen mit
Schritten der Sonne, mit
tausend Gipfeln duftend,
mir Asia auf, und
geblendet...4. Gegangen
mit dem Sohne des
Hochsten, unzertrennlich,
denn es liebte der
Gewittertragende die
Einfalt des Jungers...5.
Wenn aber stirbt alsdenn,
an dem am meisten die
Schonheit hing...6.
Eingetrieben war wie
Feuer in Eisen das, und
ihnen ging zur Seite der
Schatten des Lieben. Drum
sandt er ihnen den Geist
und freilich bebte das
Haus und die Wetter
Gottes rollten
ferndonnernd...7. Uber
die Berge zu gehn allein,
wo zwiefach erkannt, war
einstimmig und
gegenwartig der
Geist...8. Und hier ist
der Stab des Gesanges,
niederwinkend, denn
nichts ist gemein. Die
Toten wecket er auf...9.
Denn wiederkommen sollt
es, zu rechter Zeit.
Nicht war es gut gewesen,
spater, und schroff
abbrechend...(Hans
Zender)CD:Salome Kammer
(voice), Arditti String
QuartetCD Montaigne MO
782094Bibliography:Nyffel
er, Max: Fluchtpunkt
Patmos. Hans Zenders
Komposition ,,Denn
wiederkommen. Holderlin
lesen III, in: Neue
Zeitschrift fur Musik 180
(2019), Heft 1, S.
44-47.ders.: Lesen,
Schreiben, Horen. Zum
Verhaltnis von Musik und
Sprache bei Hans Zender,
dargestellt an der
Komposition ,,,denn
wiederkommen`. Holderlin
lesen III, in: ,,Ein
Zeichen sind wir,
deutungslos. Holderlin
lesen, Ikkyu Sojun horen,
Musik denken, hrsg. von
Violetta L. Waibel,
Gottingen: Wallstein
2020, S. 299-329Waibel,
Violetta L.: Holderlin
Lesen, Ikkyu Sojun Horen,
Musik Denken, in:
Festivalkatalog Wien
Modern 29 (2016), Essays,
pp. 196-198.Zenck,
Martin: Holderlin lesen -
seiner ,,Stimme zuhoren.
Holderlin-Lekturen von
Klaus Michael Gruber,
Hans Zender und Bruno
Ganz, in: Neue
Zeitschrift fur Musik 172
(2011), Heft 6, pp.
25-29.Zender, Hans: Zu
meinem Zyklus ,,Holderlin
lesen, in: Mnemosyne.
Zeit und Gedachtnis in
der europaischen Musik
des ausgehenden 20.
Jahrhunderts, hrsg. von
Dorothea Redepenning und
Joachim Steinheuer,
Saarbrucken: Pfau 2006,
pp. 26-40.
World
premiere: Museum Island
Hombroich, May 31,
1992.
The Movies Collection Quatuor à cordes: 2 violons, alto, violoncelle - Facile De Haske Publications
String Quartet - early intermediate SKU: BT.DHP-1196090-070 10 Great F...(+)
String Quartet - early
intermediate
SKU:
BT.DHP-1196090-070
10 Great Film Music
Themes. Arranged by
Anthony Gröger. De
Haske Pops for String
Quartet.
TV-Film-Musical-Show. Set
(Score & Parts). Composed
2019. 36 pages. De Haske
Publications #DHP
1196090-070. Published by
De Haske Publications
(BT.DHP-1196090-070).
ISBN 9789043157674.
English-German-French-Dut
ch.
Cinema has
always aimed to do one
thing above all else:
arouse emotions. Yet
however exciting,
entertaining or
fascinating a story might
be, its full impact is
really only felt with the
help of the right music.
While most original
soundtracks demand a
large orchestra, a much
smaller ensemble is
sufficient: Anthony
Gröger has taken ten
of the all-time most
beautiful film scores and
created stunning
arrangements for string
quartet. In keeping with
the Pops for String
Quartet series, this
volume also includes an
optional third violin
part in case a viola is
not available. This is an
indispensable collection
for any
occasion!
Van
oudsher is de film
bovenal bedoeld geweest
om emotie op te roepen.
Maar hoe spannend,
vermakelijk of boeiend
een verhaal ook is, pas
met de ondersteuning van
de juiste muziek komt het
volledig tot zijn recht.
Hoewel de meeste
originele soundtracks een
orkest met een grote
bezetting vereisen,
voldoet in dit geval een
kleiner ensemble. Anthony
Gröger heeft tien van
de mooiste
filmmuziektitels
verzameld en er prachtige
arrangementen voor
strijkkwartet van
gemaakt. Net als bij de
andere uitgaven in de
serie Pops for String
Quartet bevat ook
deze bundel een optionele
derde vioolpartij, voor
het geval er geen
altviool beschikbaar is.
Een fraaie collectie met
nummers voordiverse
gelegenheden!
Seit jeher
möchte Kino vor allem
eines: Emotionen wecken.
Doch wie spannend,
lustig, interessant eine
Story auch immer sein mag
erst mit Hilfe der
passenden Filmmusik kann
sie ihre volle Wirkung
entfalten. Während die
meisten Soundtracks im
Original ein groß
besetztes Orchester
erfordern, genügt hier
bereits eine viel
kleinere Besetzung:
Anthony Gröger hat
sich zehn der
schönsten
Filmmusik-Titel aller
Zeiten vorgenommen und
wirkungsvoll für
Streichquartett
bearbeitet. Eine
unverzichtbare Sammlung
für Anlässe jeder
Art, bei denen ein
Streichquartett gefragt
ist. Wie in der Serie
Pops for String
Quartet üblich,
enthält das Set auch
eine optionale
dritteViolinstimme für
den Fall, dass keine
Bratsche zur Verfügung
steht.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.114405050 Composed by John Downey. S...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.114405050
Composed
by John Downey. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation. 53
pages. Duration 25
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-40505.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.114405050).
UPC:
680160008377. 11 x 14
inches.
Although
structurally it
subdivides into five
movements, the entire
quartet emerges as one
vast continuum. There are
no formal breaks between
movements. However,
certain musical signposts
can be discerned,
associated with each of
the movements'
terminations and new
beginnings. The opening
movement, The Nostalgia
of Clanging Bell
Sonorities, begins
floating on recurrent Bbs
whose soft rhythmic flow
slowly puts into motion
strong undercurrents
suggestive of the latent
power of water... After
several suggestions of
tolling bells, the
movement gradually fades
into hushed tones of
veiled and very distant
sonorities. It uses a
unique efffect, for the
first time in a musical
context, conveyed through
the use of extra heavy
practice mutes. The
second movement, The
Spill of Water ,
disengages itself from
the first through its
distinct contrast in
tempo. Water moves fast,
and when it splashes, it
tends to run wildly. In
this case, it happens to
be bubbly water that
gushes forth bodly...
smashing across rocky
shorlines. So, too, the
music attempts to conjure
such moods. At the end of
this movement, a cello
cadenza emerges,
introducing an
introspective type of
melodicism. The third
movement, The Poignancy
of Memory, contains many
silences as it tries to
convey memory through
fragmented remembrances
much like often occur in
our dream state.
Progressing through
several slowly building
images, it gradually
works itself into
juxtaposition of musical
images. Towards the
movement's end, high
harmonics are sounding in
all four instruments
while left hand pizzicato
notes in the cello pluch
the last remembrances of
this central core. Almost
imperceptibly, the viola
assumes leadership as it
dissolves into: The
fourth movement, The
Fluidity of Motion, which
has mostly the viola, but
also the cello,
articulating lyrical
statements against the
sheets of sound conjured
up by the two violins
playing a flood of
swirling figures, evokes
a kind of static motion
in spae. Here, the
virtually imperceptible
manner in which this
hushed whisper continues
incessantly, can suggest
the potential fluidity
with which movement may
inch forward... Later
into the fourth movement
, two fairly extended
solos by the second and
then the first violins,
lead to a kind of
spontaneous dialogue
among the four
instrumentalists.
Eventually, this musical
conversation gets caught
up in: The fifth
movement's The Rush of
Time, which opens with a
hushed flurry of speed,
precipitates the Finale.
It generates, at first
slowly, but then very
swiftly, whole shifts of
rhythmic fields that
initially seem to
conflict with one
another. Ultimately, this
use of 'psycho-rhythmics
contributes to an on-rush
of motion and time.
Rhythmic changes are, at
times, abruptly
precipitated with but
little or no preparation
creating a kind of
inevitability in forward
thrust, while the
movement rushes forward
with a feeling of gradual
and continuous
acceleration. It gathers
density as more and more
notes are piled
progressively upon
successive beats. The
attempt is to spark
tension and ignite
excitement by means of
frenetic confrontations
of dissimilitudes.
Ultimately - with the
help of time - these
polarities centrifically
spin out their own
destinies with their
accompanying fall-out and
own inevitable
resolutions.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.11440505S Composed by John Downey. F...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.11440505S
Composed
by John Downey. Full
score. With Standard
notation. 53 pages.
Duration 25 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#114-40505S. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.11440505S).
UPC:
680160008391. 11 x 14
inches.
Although
structurally it
subdivides into five
movements, the entire
quartet emerges as one
vast continuum. There are
no formal breaks between
movements. However,
certain musical signposts
can be discerned,
associated with each of
the movements'
terminations and new
beginnings. The opening
movement, The Nostalgia
of Clanging Bell
Sonorities, begins
floating on recurrent Bbs
whose soft rhythmic flow
slowly puts into motion
strong undercurrents
suggestive of the latent
power of water... After
several suggestions of
tolling bells, the
movement gradually fades
into hushed tones of
veiled and very distant
sonorities. It uses a
unique effect, for the
first time in a musical
context, conveyed through
the use of extra heavy
practice mutes. The
second movement, The
Spill of Water,
disengages itself from
the first through its
distinct contrast in
tempo. Water moves fast,
and when it splashes, it
tends to run wildly. In
this case, it happens to
be bubbly water that
gushes forth bodly...
smashing across rocky
shorelines. So, too, the
music attempts to conjure
such moods. At the end of
this movement, a cello
cadenza emerges,
introducing an
introspective type of
melodicism. The third
movement, The Poignancy
of Memory, contains many
silences as it tries to
convey memory through
fragmented remembrances
much like often occur in
our dream state.
Progressing through
several slowly building
images, it gradually
works itself into
juxtaposition of musical
images. Towards the
movement's end, high
harmonics are sounding in
all four instruments
while left hand pizzicato
notes in the cello pluck
the last remembrances of
this central core. Almost
imperceptibly, the viola
assumes leadership as it
dissolves into: The
fourth movement, The
Fluidity of Motion, which
has mostly the viola, but
also the cello,
articulating lyrical
statements against sheets
of sound conjured up by
the two violins playing a
flood of swirling
figures, evokes a kind of
static motion in space.
Here , the virtually
imperceptible manner in
which this hushed whisper
continues incessantly,
can suggest the potential
fluidity with which
movement may inch
forward... Later into the
fourth movement, two
fairly extended solos by
the second and then the
first violins, lead to a
kind of spontaneous
dialogue amont the four
instrumentalists.
Eventually, this musical
conversation gets caught
up in: The fifth
movement's The Rush of
Time, which opens with a
hushed flurry of speed,
precipitates the Finale.
It generates, at first
slowly, but then very
swiftly, whole shifts of
rhythmic fields that
initially seem to
conflict with one
another. Ultimately, this
use of psycho-rhythmics
contributes to an on-rush
seem of motion and time.
Rhythmic changes are, at
times, abruptly
precipitated with but
little or no preparation
creating a kind of
inevitability in forward
thrust, while the
movement rushes forward
with a feeling of gradual
and continuous
acceleration. It gathers
density as more and more
notes are piled
progressively upon
successive beats. The
attempt is to spark
tension and ignite
excitement by means of
frenetic confrontations
of dissimilitudes.
Ultimately - with the
help of time - these
polarities centrifically
spin out their own
destinies with their
accompanying fall-out and
own inevitable
resolutions.
Tenor & String Quartet SKU: PE.EP72822 Composed by Jonathan Dove. Voice(s...(+)
Tenor & String Quartet
SKU: PE.EP72822
Composed by Jonathan
Dove. Voice(s) & Various
Instruments. Edition
Peters. Living Composer.
Score and Part(s). 164
pages. Duration 00:30:00.
Edition Peters
#98-EP72822. Published by
Edition Peters
(PE.EP72822).
ISBN
9790577011769. 232 x
303mm inches.
English.
I have
only visited Damascus
once, twenty years ago,
on the way to
Palmyra. I had a
purpose (I was writing
music for a play about
Palmyra’s Queen
Zenobia) but essentially
I was a tourist.
Like any visitor, I was
thrilled to step out of
the noisy modern city
into the magical ancient
world of the walled Old
City, its vibrant souk
leading to the
magnificent mosque, and a
labyrinth of winding,
narrow streets filled
with the smell of
unleavened
bread.
In Palmyra,
I was met with
extraordinary kindness
everywhere. On one
occasion, a little
Bedouin boy noticed that
I was risking sunstroke
wandering bare-headed
among the spectacular
ruins: he showed me how
to tie a turban, then
took me to have tea with
his family in their
tent.
Since then, I
have watched helplessly
as these places of wonder
have been devastated and
their inhabitants
scattered and
killed. When the
Sacconi Quartet suggested
that I might choose a
Syrian poet for our
collaboration, I welcomed
the idea.
I
searched for a long time
to find a contemporary
poet whose work might
gain from any music I
could imagine. I
felt it was important to
find first-hand accounts
of the Syrian experience
– but, of course, I
was always reading them
in translation. In
an anthology
called Syria
Speaks, I was
astonished to read
something that looked
like prose, but was full
of poetry. It was
Anne-Marie
McManus’s fine
translation of Ali
Safar’s A
Black Cloud in a Leaden
White Sky
– an
eloquent, thoughtful,
contained yet vivid
account of life in a
war-torn country, all the
more moving for its
restraint.
In
setting these words, I
have not attempted to
imitate Syrian
music. However,
there is what might be
called a linguistic
accommodation in my
choice of scale, or
mode. Several
movements are in a mode
that I first discovered
while writing a cantata
commemorating the First
World War: it has a
tuning that I associate
with war, its violence
and desolation.
This eight-note
mode is similar to scales
found in Syrian
music. I did not
choose it in the
abstract: it emerged from
the harmonies I was
exploring in the earlier
work, and emerged again
as I was looking for the
right musical colours to
set Ali Safar’s
words. In this
work, its Arabic aspect
is more prominent. -
Jonathan
Dove
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String Quartet SKU: PR.16400222S Composed by Dan Welcher. Full score (stu...(+)
String Quartet
SKU:
PR.16400222S
Composed
by Dan Welcher. Full
score (study). With
Standard notation.
Duration 11 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#164-00222S. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.16400222S).
UPC:
680160037841.
This
work follows my Quartet
No. 1 by five years. In
terms of style and
aesthetic aim, however,
it seems light years
away. Where the first
work, a 28-minute,
four-movement piece, took
aim at cosmic conflicts
and heroic resolutions,
the present work is
intended as a kind of
divertissment. Harbor
Music lasts a mere eleven
minutes, is cast in a
single movement with six
sections, and should
leave both performers and
listeners with a feeling
of good humor and
affection. The
title comes from my
experience as a guest in
the magnificent city of
Sydney, Australia. One of
its most attractive
features is its unique
system of ferry boats:
the city is laid out
around a large,
multi-channeled harbor,
with destinations more
easily approached by
water than by land.
Consequently, inhabitants
of Sydney get around on
small, people-friendly
boats that come and go
from the central docks at
Circular Quay. During a
week's visit in 1991, I
must have boarded these
boats at least a dozen
times, always bound for a
new location - the resort
town of Manley, or the
Zoo at Taronga Park, or
the shopping district at
Darling Harbour.
In casting about for a
form for my second string
quartet, a kind of loose
rondo came to mind. Each
new destination would be
approached from the same
starting-out point
(although there are
subtle variations in the
repeating theme; it's
always in a new key, and
the texture is never the
same). The result, I
hope, is a sense of
constant new information
presented with
introductory frames of a
more familiar nature.
The embarkation
theme, which begins the
piece, is a sort of
bi-tonal fanfare in which
the violins are in G
major and the viola and
cello are in B-flat
major. It is bold, eager,
and forward-looking. The
first voyage maintains
this bi-tonality,
beginning as a 9/8 due
for second violin and
viola in a kind of
rocking motion -much as a
boat produces when
reaching the deeper water
in the harbor. A sweet,
nostalgic theme emerges
over this rocking
accompaniment. This music
is developed somewhat,
then transforms quickly
into a much faster and
lighter episode, filled
with rising and falling
scales (again, in
differing keys). A
scherzando interlude in
short notes and changing
meters provides contrast,
and the episode ends with
a reprise of the scales.
The second
embarkation follows, this
time in A major/C major.
It leads quickly into a
very warm and slow theme,
in wide-leaping intervals
for the viola. This
section is interrupted
twice by solo cadenzas
for the cello, suggesting
distant boat-horns in
major thirds. The end of
the episode becomes a
transition, with
boat-horns leading into
the final appearance of
the embarkation music,
this time in trills and
tremolos instead of
sharply accented chords.
The nostalgic theme of
the first episode makes a
final appearance, serving
now as a coda. The
rocking motion continues,
in a lullaby fashion,
leaving us drowsy and
satisfied on our homeward
journey. Harbor
Music was written for the
Cavani Quartet, and is
dedicated to Richard J.
Bogomolny. Commissioned
by his employees at First
National Supermarkets as
a gift, it represents a
thank you from many of
the people (including
this composer) who have
benefitted from his
vision and generosity. An
ardent advocate of
chamber music (and a
cellist himself), Mr.
Bogomolny has for many
years been Chairman of
the Board of Chamber
Music America. -- Dan
Welcher.