Piano-Bent Sørensen THE SHADOWS OF SILENCE For piano Programme Note The Shadows of Silence (2003-2004)Quite some time ago I heard - through a conversation in a mobile phone - a wonderful concert of ringing church bells from an European capital. I found it very hard to concentrate about the conversation because I was so engrossed by the chaotic world of bell sound. The night after I dreamt that the sound of those low singing bells was rising up from a piano in a huge empty concert hall. That experience became the starting point for my piano piece 'The Shadows of Silence'. But before the piece gets to the ringing bells itmoves through a landscape of shadows - Shadows of the silence before the bells - Silence before the storm - Shadows of melodies which all the time leaves traces even in the short passages of storm. After the passage with the low ringing bells the shadows of silence returns melted in to a lament which are sending two regards. One to two small beautiful - not very well known - bars by Mozart and one to the sextet in my own opera 'Under the Sky'.'The Shadows of Silence' was commissioned by The Carnegie Hall Corporation and is dedicated to Leif Ove Andsnes
SKU: HL.14030976
ISBN 9788759853757. 9.5x14.25x0.086 inches. English.
The composer writes, 'Quite some time ago I heard - through a conversation in a mobile phone - a wonderful concert of ringing church bells from an European capital. I found it very hard to concentrate about the conversation, because I was so engrossed by the chaotic world of bell sound. The night after, I dreamt that the sound of those low singing bells was rising up from a piano in a huge empty concert hall. That experience became the starting point for my piano piece, 'The Shadows of Silence'. But before the piece gets to the ringing bells it moves through a landscape of shadows - Shadows of the silence before the bells - Silence before the storm - Shadows of melodies which all the time leaves traces even in the short passages of storm. After the passage with the low ringing bells the shadows of silence returns melted in to a lament, which are sending two regards. One to two small beautiful - not very well known - bars by Mozart, and one to the sextet in my own opera, 'Under the Sky'.
SKU: HL.14030975
ISBN 9788759860199.
Work for Chamber Ensemble dating from 1989. The composer writes: The Title SHADOWLAND refers on the one hand to a blurred 'Landscape' of shadows, where small shadows are formed behind other shadows, and where the outlines are constantly disintegrating. On the other hand, the title refers to the fanciful and unreal landscapes I felt in the music while I was writing it. SHADOWLAND has four movements, with proportions 4-7-4-3. These proportions can be found on various levels, from the smallest cell to the largest form. The first movement is divided into four parts which have exactly the same proportions as the whole pjece, and behind the fastrunning melodies and trills that dominate the whole movement one can hear, in the second, third, and fourth parts, anticipations of the second, third and fourth movements respectively. The second movement begins at the edge of silence with almost unperceptible glissandi and indistinct chorales. Gradually the hushed landscape is drowned out by sudden expressive melodic outbursts and ends with violent dance rhythms. The third movement is built up of clouds of staccato tones and is a further development of the pointillistic ideas from CLAIROBSCUR. In th last movement the horn plays a long soloistic melody line which the other instruments imitate and echo. These echoes swamp the horn line from time to time. SHADOWLAND was commissioned by and dedicated to The London Sinfonietta.
