SKU: S9.Q40682

Vier Seiten for violoncello is an attempt to present an event that in reality takes about two seconds in extreme slow motion, thus making even the micromovements visible or audible beyond the straight line of motion. When I composed the piece, the fatal accident of Ayrton Senna came to my mind again and again – an accident which was shown on TV in slow motion again and again until it became unbearable. The fast motion of the car immediately before the crash into a concrete wall, a motion which was no longer purposeful but out of control and which had the car pulled to and fro and from side to side, was followed by that crash. In this extreme slow motion, it is no longer shown as a crash but as the fast telescoping of carbon fibre, metal and human body parts. After this crash, as a postlude so to speak, everything suddenly slowed down, tyres and automotive particles floating in the air, the torso of the vehicle swinging until the motion stopped. It was not until this moment that I realized that the whole presentation of the incident had been accompanied by paralyzing silence. - Thomas Larcher

Vier Seiten is a response to Ayrton Senna’s fatal car accident, portrayed in slow motion, as it was repeatedly shown on television at the time. In this poignant work, a violent fast section represents the crash, followed by a long epilogue, reflecting the apparent stillness of the immediate aftermath.

SKU: A0.1193582

This arrangement was made like the original. It doesn't contain chords.

SKU: A0.549259

I. Moderato, II. Lento misterioso, III. Rondo Spirito

The Moderato unfolds in the standard sonata-allegro form. It explores some divergent elements: a lyrical Dorian principal theme, a terse Phrygian subordinate theme subjected to extreme compression in an asymmetrical meter, and a brief closing theme - again in Dorian. The development section presents fragmented variations of the themes and a new theme essentially extracted from the transition. The recapitulation proceeds as usual, with the secondary theme appearing in tonic - in this case, G Dorian. The principal theme's final statements appear in the closing theme's rhythm. A coda based on a fragment of the closing theme ends the movement.

The Lento misterioso is an elegiac ternary construction that introduces quartal/quintal harmony and modal exploration. The contrasting B section involves an agitato passage that investigates Phrygian relations.

The Rondo Spirito is a simple Rondo: ABACABA. The impetus of the movement derives from elements of the previous two movements: quartal/quintal harmony from the Lento and asymmetrical meter from the Moderato. Other elements appearing in this piece are cycles of thirds, modal explorations, and extended range.

 

SKU: A0.998867

Monody is a fast tempo study for solo cello which explores the development of a single line (there is no double stopping). The work centres around E minor, and states the main motif at the outset (E, G, F#). This is then extended and transformed throughout the course of the piece. An initial introductory motivic passage is followed by a scalic section that features another core concept of the work; that of the octatonic scale (alternating semitones and tones, or vice versa). Then comes the main extended scherzo-like section, itself in a ternary structure, that exploits permutations of the opening motif and the octatonic scale, across the entire range of the cello. The work builds towards a climax, including in extreme high pitch and loud dynamics. After a silence, there follows a very quiet and mysterious muted coda, which briefly recounts the main motivic ideas of the piece, before ending on the only pizzicato note of the work. The piece is accessible and is appropriate for high standard cellists, including advanced and professional players.
Duration: 4 minutes 20 seconds.
Registered with PRS (Performing Rights Society, UK).
Composer's website: www.roberthowardmusic.co.uk.

SKU: A0.549203

Instrumentation: 8 Cellos arranged in two choirs. Full Score: 28 pg. Study Score: 14 pg. Parts: 2 pg. ea.

Innovations

First of all, Gabrieli preferred sacred vocal and certainly instrumental music. Hence, he concentrated on music that consequently took advantage of resonance and likewise reverberation for maximum effect. Seems like Gabrieli may have invented dynamics – or was rather the first to indicate them such as in his Sonata Pian’ e Forte. Consequently, he was also a pioneer in spatial techniques. He therefore developed and used very specific notation to indicate instrumentation. Gabrieli experimented with assembling massive instrumental forces into isolated groups separated by space. In this way, he consequently contributed heavily to the Baroque Concertato style.

Polychoral Works

Gabrieli probably used the layout of the San Marco church for his experiments. This is because he worked there as a musician and composer. Furthermore, the church had two choir lofts facing each other. He certainly used these to create striking spatial effects between instrumental forces. Certainly, many of his works are composed such that a choir or instrumental group could first be heard on one side, then consequently followed by a response from the group on the other side. Sometimes there was probably a third group positioned near the main altar as well.

Spatial Music

Above all, Gabrieli studied carefully detailed groups of instruments and singers. Furthermore, it seems like he created precise directions for instrumentation in rather than two groups. The instruments, because they could be appropriately situated, could consequently be heard with perfect clearness at distant locations. As a result, arrangements that seem bizarre on paper, can in contrast sound perfectly in balance.

First Works

Finally, Gabrieli published his first motets along with his uncle Andrea's compositions in Concerti (1587). These compositions furthermore indicate considerable usage of dialogue and echo effects. Consequently, here we see low and high choirs with the variance between their ranges indicated by instrumental accompaniment. Seems like Gabrieli’s later motets Sacrae Symphoniae (1597) move away from close antiphony. In contrast, he moves towards not simply echoing the material but developing it through sequential choral entrances. Even more, he takes this procedure to the extreme in the Motet Omnes Gentes. Unlike earlier works, here the instruments are certainly an essential part of the presentation. Also, only parts marked: Capella are supposed to be sung.

Homophony

Hence, after 1605, Gabrieli moves to a much more homophonic style. He writes sections purely for instruments – which calls Sinfonia – and smaller sections for vocal soloists, accompanied by a basso continuo.

SKU: A0.881256

Blues Impromptu is a cello solo work in the Western classical tradition that reflects American music. It displays a rounded progressive form. The musical events stem extended playing techniques such as extreme high registers, extensive use of natural harmonics and multi layering effects with sul ponticello on fast note ostinato passages playing in the high register on top of the tail motive of the opening melody performed with double stops in the lower register. The closing section features the melody played with a left hand pizzicato over a sustained pedal

SKU: A0.1018958

Programme Notes:

 This composition was written to be considered for pairing alongside Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony #3, the Eroica, but can stand on its own virtues as an intense and slow meditation on heroism. The music is like a boiling pot on the stove that’s just began to overflow its bubbles.

 The first part of the title, kommos, is a Classical Greek term from Attic dramaturgy, literally meaning striking but specifically referring to beating oneself up during lamentation--ripping at the hair, gouging out the eyes--like Oedipus--slapping the forehead, and other acts amid moments of extreme emotional turmoil. For example, from Aeschylus's play Agamemnon, a character bewails: Apollo, Apollo! God of the Ways, my destroyer! For you have destroyed me-and utterly [...]What is this fresh woe [...]what monstrous, monstrous horror, beyond love's enduring, beyond all remedy? And help stands far away! We can easily imagine physical accompaniment to the script; rather than bottling up the pain, the hero lets it all explosively come out.  

 The second part of the title, When the world moved on, is an epigraph taken from American author Stephen King’s The Dark Tower epic. The primary setting of the novel, a world similar in many ways to our own, is experiencing a dark age where the glorious past is all but a distant memory and all good things are referred to wistfully as occurring, When the world moved on. Yet, the main protagonist, Roland, the last gunslinger, emphasizes that it is not just a figure of speech, but the literal distances between destinations have increased, the positions of the stars have changed, as well as the occurrence of other unnatural phenomena. The world has become a gulf of isolation from all corners.

 Taken together, this piece is a lamentation for when the world moved on. Truly completed on Yom Kippur during the Covid-19 Pandemic, being unable to fast or go to synagogue, this is my atonement.

About the Composer:

 Benjamin Sajo (b. 1988) is a Canadian composer of contemporary classical music, as well as an educator. Since developing a fiercely independent creative voice upon the completion of his studies at Western (2010) and McGill Universities (2013), he continues to find inspiration from the intersection of mythology, art, and nature upon the contemporary human experience. In 2019, he released his premiere album of original music, The Great War Sextet: Canadian War Poetry with Trombone & Strings, with support from the Ontario Arts Council. He is a member of SOCAN and the League of Canadian Composers.

SKU: A0.1193609

This arrangement was made like the original. Contains chords.