Viola listening
In preparation for the upcoming Viola and Electronics piece, I have prepared some listening:
Firstly, CDs in the Lenagan to listen to:
* Garth Knox – Works for Solo Viola
Contains: György Ligeti – Sonata for Solo Viola
György Kurtág – Jelek
James Dillon – Siorram
Pascal Dusapin – Inside
Salvatore Sciarrino – Notturni Brillanti
Luciano Berio – Sequenza VI
That makes two Transylvanian/Hungarian composers, two Italians, a Glaswegian and a Frenchman.
I sometimes find solo instrumental works hard to stomach, being for the most part particularly private affairs, both through performance and composition. I find the Ligeti immensely likeable and characterful, obviously one of his more successful works. The inlay for the CD mentions his fascination with the C string, initially being the only part of the instrument which attracted him. It also talks about the Viola in its priveliged setting in contemporary composition, and its prior shunning: it explains this through its description of its role as the ‘ugly duckling’. There is an element of truth in this, especially in terms of quartet and orchestral writing, since the instrument simply serves a function to bridge the gap between the cello and violin. However, string instruments are easily the most homogeneous of all the instrument groups, and if the range of the viola is appreciated it easily satisfy most composers’ desires.
Ligeti was obviously aware of the stigma of the instrument, and almost went overboard in highlighting its unique characteristic—the deep tone of the C string—in the first movement.
Probably one of the most important issues to tackle before beginning a solo instrumental work is the balance between vertical harmony and melodic contour. Ligeti tackles vertical harmony by making use of double stopping, and especially open strings in the second movement. Extended techniques are not used at all, instead relying on delicately composed (heavy-handed/brutal?) harmony to reinforce the harmonic sound-world. He carefully sculpts melodic contour around the harmony, it seems to me highlighting the awkward moments of juxtaposition without completely destroying the general sense of harmonic movement.
I’m not sure I can get anything from the Kurtág. Each movement seems like an awkward teenager, making a concerted effort to be ‘wrong’. Each musical moment is almost completely separate from the next, carefully considered and placed, but nonetheless with only a passing connection to its neighbours. Then again, I haven’t seen the score, but I don’t consider I would gain anything from that over simply listening. I appreciate his effort to create these miniature, completely self-contained, ultra-condensed works, much in the tradition of Webern, but I would consider my own approach to discover this material through a similar technique of precise and careful examination, but then to give it more ‘breathing space’.
I’ll come back to the rest.
