Format : Sheet music
SKU: PR.11641139S
UPC: 680160682119.
Barcarolles for a Sinking City was inspired by the city of Venice, a place that has long held the fascination of artists, writers and composers, and which I have been lucky enough to visit on several occasions. Sadly it seems that future generations may not be so lucky: in addition to the city's slow sinking and recently discovered tilting, studies predict that if global warming and the resultant rise of ocean levels is unabated, the entire city (as well as many other coastal cities around the globe) will be under water by 2100. I. Funeral Gondola The late, cryptic piano works of Franz Liszt made a profound impression on me as a young composer, among them two works he entitled La Lugubre Gondola (usually translated as The Funeral Gondola ) which were said to be a premonition of Wagner's death in Venice, his coffin transported through the canals in a black gondola. These late pieces of Liszt acquired even greater significance to me after I spent two summers in Bayreuth under the patronage of Friedelind Wagner, the granddaughter of Wagner and great-granddaughter of Liszt. This movement is a meditation on Wagner, Liszt, Venice and its own evanescence. II. Barcarolle/Quodlibet The Quodlibet (Latin for what pleases) is a musical form dating back to the 15th century where many disparate melodies are juxtaposed. Popular in the Renaissance, sacred and secular melodies were combined, often to comical effect due to the resultant incongruity of the words. The form was considered the ultimate test of a composer's mastery of counterpoint. The most famous Quodlibet is without doubt the final Variation of Bach's Goldberg Variations. As a form the Quodlibet is less common in more recent music, although examples can be found in the works of Kurt Weill and David Del Tredici. My own Barcarolle/Quodlibet was inspired by the (perhaps apocryphal) story of the funeral where musicians were asked to play a Bach Choral, but due to miscommunication played instead the Bacarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann. Here, the Bach Choral Allen Menschen mussen sterben (All Men Must Die) is heard in the strings pizzicato, with a tempo indication In slow motion. The alto line of the Bach suggests a phrase from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (Alle Menchen werden Bruder) heard in the muted trombone. Before long, the famous tune from Offenbach's opera is heard, followed by quotations from iconic Barcarolles by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Faure, as well as two Venetian popular songs and more Beethoven. III. Barcarola/Ostinato/Carillon An ostinato is a repeated musical figure, and carillon is Italian for music box. This movement references the obsolete genre of salon pieces that imitated music boxes: such works by composers like Liadov and Gretchaninov used to be a mainstay of pianists' encore repertoire. This movement is however much darker in conception than those pleasant trifles. Utilizing the full battery of percussion, the carefully notated temporal slowing of the ostinato becomes overwhelmed by a poignant chorale melody before this box is snapped shut. IV. Barcarolle Oubliee (Forgotten Barcarolle) Marked limpido (still) the final movement begins with the sound of rain produced by a percussion instrument called (appropriately) a rain stick. Halting phrases in the harp coalesce into the accompaniment for a plangent melody heard in the clarinet. The central Adagio of this movement leads to a shattering climax, before the opening phrases return and dissipate into nothingness.
SKU: PR.11641139L
UPC: 680160682126.
SKU: OT.28104
ISBN 9789655051100. 8.27 x 11.69 inches.
Daniel Akiva Alma i Vida i Korason Sephardic Anthology for voice and guitar The 18 songs of the collection Alma i Vida i Korason include romansas, cantigas, life cycle songs and original music composed to poems by Avner Perez, a journey in Ladino song from the Middle Ages through the 21st century. Alma i Vida i Korason was recently recorded by Sivan Goldman, soprano and Daniel Akiva, guitar, together with a special series of short videos filmed at the Ralli Museum in Caesarea, Israel. For further information, please visit the YouTube and Spotify channels of the composer. Contents: 1. A la una Naci yo 2. Kisa Agora el Amor 3. Durme Durme Mi Andjeliko 4. Morena me Yaman 5. La Serena 6. Durme Durme Mi Alma Donzeya 7. Noches Noches 8. Mama Yo no Tengo Visto 9. Ya Abasha La Novia 10. Esta Noche 11. Ya Viene El Kativo 12. Komo La Roza 13. Ay Linda Amiga 14. El Prisionero 15. Kantiga de Kune Para Selanik 16. Puncha Puncha 17. Durme Hermozo Hiziko 18. Sirkiji Daniel Akiva is a composer, performer, and educator whose performances on guitar and lute have earned international acclaim. Mr. Akiva graduated from the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem in 1981, where he studied classical guitar with Haim Asulin and composition with Haim Alexander. In 1987 he completed his studies of lute with Jonathan Rubin and composition with Jean Ballisa at the Geneva Conservatorium in Switzerland. In 1986 he founded the Music Department at the WIZO High School for the Arts in Haifa which he headed for over thirty years. As part of his work at WIZO High School, he developed a method for teaching free improvisation which has been incorporated into the music program at the school. He also served as the Artistic Director of the Guitar Gems Festival from 2006-2018. Mr. Akiva has performed in concerts as a guitarist and lutenist and given master classes in Israel, Europe, Russia, the United States, and Latin America. Daniel Akiva’s compositional output includes works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, choir, voice and guitar, piano, and chamber orchestra. His works have been recorded on twelve CDs, the latest of which, Malchut, was issued by OR-TAV in 2014. Akiva's work Psalms for guitar solo was awarded the ACUM prize for composition in 1990, and his string quartet Ciclos was awarded the ACUM prize for composition in 2002. In 2006 his CD Hope, recorded with Laurel Zucker (flute) and Ronit Widmann-Levy (soprano) was awarded the Amazon prize. In 2017 Akiva was awarded the Prime Minister's Prize for composers in Israel. A native of Haifa whose family has lived in Israel for over five hundred years, he was steeped in the Sephardic (Jewish-Spanish) tradition from his youth. A large part of his oeuvre has been devoted to a dialogue with the music of the Sephardic Jews. Daniel Akiva has also maintained a creative dialogue throughout the years with poets and writers Amnon Shemesh, Rivka Miriam, and Avner Perez. 105 pages, softcover.