performed by Alexandra von der Embse
This piece is inspired by music from the sixth movement of Sergei Prokofiev’s Quintet Op. 39. The music from that work was itself a reworking of material from Prokofiev’s earlier ballet Trapèze. Two highly contrasting dances are juxtaposed in that movement: a “funeral-minuet” and a fast, raucous compound meter section. In addition, several other musical juxtapositions permeate the sections themselves: the lyrical, falling melodies of the minuet against thick dissonant harmonies; the pure fourths and fifths of the faster dance clashing through the half steps that separate them; and the concept of a funeral-minuet itself: combining the minuet, a dance form with an extensive history in non-programmatic pieces, with death.
My work pits these two dances directly against each other as two soundscapes that the oboist emerges from and plays over. At times the oboist becomes a part of the landscape, and at other times they assert their individuality. As the dances continue to alternate, material from one starts to bleed over into another, and the segments become shorter and shorter until they collide in a series of rapid juxtapositions, which collapses and dissipates the electronics entirely, leaving the oboist alone at the end.
Score (pdf):
For additional information, questions, or parts requests, contact Aidan.