Duo PhoenixRecordingsRadio Concert in Sofia, Bulgaria 2010
on text by Walter Scott from
Lady of the Lake
The use of muted and
muffled sounds (smorzato, micro interval, quarter tones,
glissandi, percussive sounds, frullato) to enlarge
the expression leads to an unusual but persuasively composition.
Jungfrau mild, Erhöre einer Jungfrau Flehen, Aus diesem Felsen starr und wild Soll mein Gebet zu dir hin wehen, Zu dir hin wehen. Wir schlafen sicher bis zum Morgen, Ob Menschen noch so grausam sind. O Jungfrau, sieh der Jungfrau Sorgen, O Mutter, hör ein bittend Kind! Ave Maria! Ilya Zeljenka (Slovaky): Rozmar (Caprice) 1983 or soprano and bass clarinet Encouraged by his affinity for physics, chemistry and
astronomy, Zeljenka has come to regard music as a form of science. (He
is also the author of prose and a gifted orator, philosopher and visual
artist.) His first pieces, some of which were composed in the style of
Prokofiev (e.g. Symphony no.2, 1961) or else Bartók, Honegger
and Stravinsky (e.g. Piano Sonata no.1 or the Piano Quintet no.2),
stemmed from improvising at the piano. In the 1960s he experimented
with sound, form and pitch organization: Štuktúry and Polymetrická hudba (‘Polymetric Music’) employ
serial technique (though a 12-note row of Webern’s was used in the
earlier Piano Quintet no.2, 1958); Oświęcim, Metamorfózy XV, Zaklínadlá (‘Incantations’) and Hry (‘Games’) are studies in
timbre, and make use of echo, spatial effects and various qualities of
the voice (e.g. whispering, shouts and hoarseness); while Structures, in
addition, uses aleatory devices. He also experimented with time and
polyrhythms; for example,Polymetric Music (1969) for 20 string
instruments is performed with the aid of purpose-made metronomes with
lights, Quartet (1964) is for solo pianist and three tape-playback
piano ‘voices’. The effect in many of his works relies on stage
presentation and requires a great deal of acting on the part of
performers. In the early 1960s Zeljenka became the first Slovak
composer to write electro-acoustic music for film.
In the next decade, and as the consequence of public
performances of his works being prohibited, Zeljenka turned to writing
for folk ensembles; among these pieces were Vajano and Musica slovaca. Away
from the public eye, however, and working in seclusion, he devised a
new musical language that was cellular, based on earlier experiments
and which became the basis for horizontal and vertical organization – a
quarter-tone scale incorporating major and minor 2nds. This is found
typically inElégia for
solo violin and strings and the Second Piano Sonata; slightly later are Musica per pianoforte ed
archi (1975) and Šesť štúdií (‘Six Studies’) for organ
(1976). The ensuing reduction of musical material strengthened the
meditative quality of Zeljenka’s music, lending a new atmospheric and
philosophical dimension. Several works from this period contain social
commentary in support of his long-held views on the failings of
society. The Fourth Symphony, as the ballet Hrdina (‘Hero’, 1978), for
example, presents the story of a prisoner who decides to leave the
safety of his prison cell even at the likely cost of losing his life.
The cantata Slovo (‘The Word’, 1980), in a
similar vein, criticizes the communist regime.
During the 1980s and 90s Zeljenka perfected and consolidated
features of his musical language. He returned to rhythmic processes and
polyrhythms in Hry
pre Biancu(‘Games for Bianca’) and Hry pre jedného (‘Games for One’), while
the String Quartet no.8 (1995) represents further experimentation with
quarter-tones. What is new, however, is the use of traditional genres
including the Mass, Passion and opera.
Irma Bilbao (Belgium): Smek
(2007) dedicated to Stephan Vermeersch and In Memoriam Karl Heinz
Stockhausen - composed for Duo Phoenix
semi improvisational compositon
on the noise one makes with the mouth when eating, kissing, jawing ....
Irma Bilbao (Belgium) : SPIRTO 2 for voice, bongo, piano, torch and
clarinets (text by
William Blake: the Tyger) WORLD PREMIERE - composed for
Duo Phoenix
Petra Vermote (Belgium): The Tell Tale Heart (2009 -theatrical) for soprano and bass clarinet/Bb clarinet- commissioned by Duo Phoenix ‘‘The Tell-Tale Heart’’ is simultaneously a
horror story and psychological thriller told from a first-person
perspective. It is admired as an excellent example of how a short story
can produce an effect on the reader. Poe believed that all good
literature must create a unity of effect on the reader and this effect
must reveal truth or evoke emotions. ‘‘The Tell-Tale Heart’’
exemplifies Poe’s ability to expose the dark side of humankind and is a
harbinger of novels and films dealing with psychological realism. Poe’s
work has influenced genres as diverse as French symbolist poetry and
Hollywood horror films, and writers as diverse as Ambrose Bierce and
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
‘‘The Tell-Tale Heart’’ begins with the
famous line ‘‘True!—nervous—very, very nervous I had been and am; but
why will you say that I am
mad?’’ The narrator insists that his disease has sharpened, not dulled,
his senses. He tells the tale of how an old man who lives in his house
has never wronged him. For an unknown reason, the old man’s cloudy,
pale blue eye has incited madness in the narrator. Whenever the old man
looks at him, his blood turns cold. Thus, he is determined to kill him
to get rid of this curse.
Vytautas
Germanavicius (Lithuania): Le Désir (2007)
for soprano and bass clarinet/Bb clarinet (includes foot
tapping simular to tap dancing of flamenco) composed for Duo
Phoenix
Rhapsodic composition on a poem
of Marie Etienne (French) exploiting the expressive possibilities of
voice and clarinets.
Le Désir (Marie
Etienne)
A l'exterieur le soleil
plaque sa chaleur.
La tragédie commence
et recommence.
Ils ne dormiront plus trop
occuper de la souffrance.
Et chaque fois entre eux
cette épaisseur la peau loin de la
peau
Ils ne se touchent pas ni
s'en tendent vraiment les bras
Ils ne font que parler aux
murs de dos à nous
Le désir entre eux est
complet
bouche mange
l'été comme en mémoire
la fin de se nourir
Dans sa robe de nuit le rein
ramp car l'amour plie en deux
Elle veut continuer quand
même comme un insect
Comme une femme saoule
<>Christian
Henking (Switserland) Dash (2007 mini opera) for
soprano and clarinet - composed for Duo Phoenix
Tzvi Avni (Israel): Leda and
the Swan (1976) for soprano and clarinet
The music was inspired by the
Greek legend of the love affair between Leda and Zeus who came to her
transforemd into a swan. The text, also conceived by the
composer, is a part of the musical invention. It consists of
syllables which have only a sonorous function, without any literal or
associative significance. The pronounciation is like in German or
Italian.
The composer's suggestion for
improvisational approach for Three Blake Songs
These songs were conceived as
three contrasting and freely structured creative musical vehicles for
performers with strong improvisatory skills. The symbols used for the
soprano are intended as vocal suggestions for inflection, register
,free pitch choice, dynamics and accent. The metered rhythm shoudl
be adhered to as carefully as is possible. this-to the degree it
proves comfortable and aids both performers as an organizing
factor. The central line indicates the middel regiser of the vocal
setting; symbols set above or below this line are to be understood as
suggesting higher or lower vocal phrases.
The picht selection for the
clarinet should favor unusual chromatic phrase groups. It wuld be b est
to avoid any hint of diatonic scales, tetrachords or
arpeggios. The central line indicates the "throat" register -
around open "g"; in reading symbols above or below this line the artist
should explore higer or deeper ranges of teh clarinet in approximate or
even extreme correspondence. Articulations, slurs, dynamics, rhythmic
patterns and registration should all be combined into one central
conception relating the meaning of the text for each song.
Clearly the artisitic challenge of this little improvisatory cycle is
understand the composers's message. Both artists need to merge
technique, spontaneous invention and style. Each is involved with
the other in a close shadow play of the most subltle emerging nuances.
The first song, "The Fly",
should be approached as a dramatic setting, leaning towards contrast in
both parts and rather extreme inflections in the soprano material.
Although the song is serious in tone, bits of humor here and there will
help.
The second song, "The Sick
Rose", should be generally quuiet and sustained unusual quarter-tone
effects on some of the clarinet longtones may help establish the sad
ailing tone of the poem.
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