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Of Bleakness & Humour (2007)Click here to return to concert music listing. Description A two movement concerto for two flutes (flute & flute/alto flute) and orchestra. Duration: 20 min. Instrumentation Solo Flute 1 (C flute) 4 French Horns Timpani Strings Program Notes A musical homage to the music of the great Central European composer Gyorgy Ligeti. The title “Of Bleakness and Humour” is taken from the title of Mr. Ligeti’s recent obituary in the New York Times by Paul Griffiths. The piece is not meant to imitate Ligeti’s music, but the careful study and appreciation of his music has served as a point of departure for many of the musical ideas of the concerto. Ligeti is usually identified with his dense, textural, slow moving pieces such as “Atmospheres” and “Lux Aeterna” (best known from the soundtrack of “2001: A Space Odyssey), however many of his works have a much lighter and playful side such as “Adventures” and “Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet”. The concerto’s two movements draw on these two extremes. The first movement begins with a single tone (D#) in the tubular bells, which is picked up by the solo C flute and solo alto flute, and expanded upon in their extended melodic phrases. The orchestral accompaniment is harmonically static allowing the solo flute lines to push and pull away from the opening tone, but always drawing them back to it. As the movement progresses, the orchestra begins to break away harmonically permitting the flutes to lead the music farther away from the opening tone. Their journey however ultimately ends where they started, rooted in the initial D#. The second movement features two solo C flutes with fast moving virtuosic passages and a cadenza. The orchestral accompaniment is impish and agile piecing together pizzicato string textures with syncopated jazz inspired rhythms. This movement is meant to contrast the darker quality of the first movement, with a humorous spirit that does not take itself too seriously. It ends the piece in character with a flourish of dazzling running notes in the solo flutes |
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