SKU: HL.14035756
ISBN 9788759868294. English.
Wenn Die Rose Sich Selbst Schmückt, Schmückt Sie Auch Den Garten (When The Rose Beautifies Itself, It Beautifies The Garden ) was composed by Per Nørgård in 1971.
Chamber Cantata for four performers
Scored for Soprano, Alto Flute, Double Bass and Percussion (all playing also Crotales).
Composed for and dedicated to Dorothy Dorrow.
Parts available: KP01092
Preface / Programme Note
The title of the work is borrowed from a fragment by the German poet Friedrich Rückert.This fragment, this short sentence (which Rückert apparently neverelaborated upon) is the entire basis of the work. I was inspired by the meaning as well as the sound of these words.I perceive the meaning of the sentence as being a defence for the refinement of an individual’s personal gifts - far from the present hostility toward individuality and the senseless praise of impersonal success in society. Personal refinement can, so the fragment in my interpretation, at its best be accompanied by a deep sense of responsibility, and become an active and positive influence in society.The sound, the timbre, of the individual words and characters is employed both instraightforward text-sequences, as well as in the exploration of individual vowels and consonants as pure sounds. The soprano is often used purely instrumentally, echoing and pre-echoing discreetly the notes of the flute and the harmonics of the double bass, often imperceptably stealing their notes and altering them into human sounds, which then yetagain are absorbed into the instrumental tapestry.
Per Nørgård, 1971
SKU: BR.EB-9387
ISBN 9790004188576. 0 x 0 inches.
Commissioned by the Kolner Philharmonie (KolnMusik) for the non bthvn projekt 2020 and the Cite de la musique / Philharmonie de Paris Dedicated to Arditti Quartet Each movement of this quartet explores a single state, its lights and its shadows. Each movement, you could say, is a moment . And these moments could last for more or less time without compromising their essential nature. The processes could be extended or compressed, repeated or reversed, but the core ideas - if they are ideas, but maybe they are simply experiences? - are what they are. Despite this, the precise sequence of movements matters a great deal. Heard together they do articulate some kind of linear narrative, maybe even a metaphorical journey (albeit a circular one where the arrival might, who knows, prove to be a new departure). One situation gives way to another and instrumental relationships within the quartet vary, but ultimately the imaginative impulse behind the piece preferences states of unity. Whether or not this unity is expressed texturally - sometimes literal unisons pervade, but not always - there is generally a sense that even seemingly diverse aspects relate to a fundamental condition of concord: a conscious limitation in the pitch structure to spectral emanations of the root notes E-flat and C. At the opening this is unambiguously audible in the perpetual alternation of these two notes in the low cello register. Later the two spectra are woven into a micro-tonal 'double-spectral-mode' (derived from the first 24 partials of the C and E-flat fundamentals), which defines the subtle melodic inflection of the second movement, and the never-quite-chromatic ascending scales of the third. For now this feels like a rich source of melodic possibility, so far only just glimpsed... And why the insistence on E-flat? Probably by way of historical anecdote. Apparently Karl Holz (a member of the Schuppanzigh Quartet) said to Beethoven: We performed your Quartet in E-flat Op. 127 in his [Weber's] honour; he found the Adagio too long; but I told him: Beethoven also has a longer feeling and a longer imagination than anyone standing or not standing today. - Since then, even Linke (another member of the quartet) can no longer stand him: we cannot forgive him for this. Listening again to Op. 127, in light of these comments, I was struck by the opening moment: the unfolding of an E-flat 7th chord over the course of a few bars. Every time I hear it I find myself wishing that Beethoven would have lingered longer there, without resolution or progression, just enjoying that sonority. And maybe - why not? - tune the 7th naturally. And what would it be to stretch that moment into an entire piece? What would Weber think of that?! In the end I was not so extreme in my self-limitation, and other concerns took over, but it was from these thoughts that the composition process began... Lastly, about the title: it comes from a book called 'The Clock of the Long Now' by Stewart Brand, published at the turn of the millennium. It's about the creation of a thousand-year clock to embody the aspiration to thinking in terms of longer time-spans than are presently habitual. If the music of Beethoven embodied a 'longer' feeling and imagination than some of his contemporaries were able to appreciate, what is our relation to time now? Longer or shorter? Maybe it depends who you ask... It's probably more extreme in both directions: attention spans might be diminishing in the digital world, but conversely there is an awareness of distant pasts and potential futures which would have been inconceivable at the time of Beethoven. In any case, the interesting thing is to ponder how societal conditions, assumptions and expectations might - whether consciously or unconsciously - influence the time of art, for listeners and creators alike. And what if time is running out? (Christian Mason)World premiere: Paris, Cite de la musique, January 14, 2020.
SKU: ST.H474
ISBN 9790220222900.
A Short Sonata is a work written at around Grade 8 standard for euphonium and piano. In each of the work's three movements, different qualities of the instrument are utilised and explored. In the first movement, an Allegro in 6/8 time, these qualities are the instrument's general agility, and its ability to play fast-moving melodies in a way that drives the music forward. Throughout, different ways of phrasing similar material are used to create interest and a varied sound. In the second, slow movement, the resonant and majestic way in which the euphonium can deliver lyrical melodic lines is explored. The movement is made up of four long phrases which peak dynamically at the third, giving room for interpretation and feeling. The third movement exploits the instrument's ability to play loudly and aggressively, using lots of accented notes, hairpin crescendos and quick double-tonguing. A Short Sonata was the winner of the first Stainer & Bell Award for Brass Composition, held at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff in May 2010.
