Work
tesserae...interstices
for mixed sextet
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About
The technique of “mosaic” is the construction of an image from numerous small tiles. These tiles, called “tesserae”, are separated by the “interstices” (the spaces between the tiles, usually filled with grout). In this piece—an homage to Luciano Berio—tiny fragments are taken from his Sequenza IX for clarinet to form the tesserae of the clarinet part. But they appear in a completely reordered and recontextualised sequence. At the same time, the other instruments resonate, echo and sustain the clarinet, in a manner similar to Berio’s Chemins series. Eventually the interstices enlarge and swallow up the tesserae. Timbral and harmonic distortions merge the two layers, until they decay into sonic abstraction. This piece was written for the Acanthes Festival 2007, and was premiered by members of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.
Commissioned note
Written for the Acanthes Festival 2007
Performance history
20 Jul 2007: Performed by members of the Luxembourg Philharmonic at the Luxembourg Philharmonic Hall, in Luxembourg
28 Apr 2008: Performed by Éclat as part of the ACL-Korea International Conference and Festival, Seoul, Korea
08 Nov 2008: Performed by the Israel Contemporary Players at Tel Aviv Museum
09 Nov 2008: Performed by the Israel Contemporary Players, Jerusalem New Music Centre
17 May 2009: Stroma Dreams