Pietà - arrangement for viola and strings - 2020
duration 35 minutes
1 Berceuse ~ 2 Enigmas ~ 3 Elegy ~ 4 Seven Roads ~ 5 Reminiscence
Hana-Maria Gubenko asked for this arrangement of the original viola/piano duo version. This large scale, five movement work is an in memoriam for my parents. The inspiration was partly pictorial, inasmuch as the Pietà statues of Michelangelo have remained a haunting memory from a trip to Italy many years ago - perhaps especially the almost god-like, all encompassing "knowing" on the face of Nicodemus (a self portrait of the sculptor).
The opening Berceuse does more than rock the child to sleep. This is succeeded by a somewhat schizophrenic movement called Enigmas, with alternating stabbing chords and arabesque-like, ethereal cadenzas The Elegy that follows is simple, haunting and melancholy. As a result the fiery and extended, protesting 'plaint' in Seven Roads comes as a brutal shock. A slow Reminiscence completes the work, like a flickering candle, as towards the end a small quotation from Janáček's little piano piece Good Night is heard.
PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC DOMAIN WORK. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. PRINTED COPIES ARE FOR EVALUATION PURPOSES ONLY
The viola part is not quite the same as the duo version, though is mostly so.
The premiere and recording of this work are promised to Hana-Maria Gubenko but is availble to all players thereafter.
mp3 unperformed so computer realisation (apologies)
complete work - five movements (one mp3)
On my chamber music page you can hear real recordings of the original duo version.
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