Each of four movements demonstrates a certain type of sound images.
I - Mixed - an interlacing of sustained tones and fast passages. The sound
is mostly dry and very impulsive.
II - Fast. Loud - simultaneous superimposing of four lines with different
rhythmic and metric structures. The clarinetist, violist, and each hand of the
pianist have their own tempos and time signatures (7/8, 2/4, 6/8, 5/8).
III - Fast. Quiet - tender arabesques surrounded with silence.
IV - Slow. Dramatic - is the centre of the work that transfers the music into
a more "profound" field. Expressive legato. Lines of vocal nature. Some
virtuosity, not without romantic pathos.
The form of the cycle may be described as three preludes and the main movement, all united by common thematic structures.
The work was written at the urging of Swedish clarinetist Staffan Martensson and dedicated to Obscura Trio. The world premiere took place at the festival Contrasts in Lviv, Ukraine, on October 9, 1997.
Alexander Shchetynsky
© 2000 by Alexander Shchetynsky