I
1. Te decet hymnus
II
2. Dies Irae
3. Quantus tremor
4. Tuba mirum
5. Ingemisco et Confutatis
6. Lacrimosa
III
7. Lux aeterna
To some extend my Piano Concerto is programmatic, as it is inspired by several verses of
traditional liturgy. The work consists of 7 movements. The first movement Te decet hymnus introduces several leitmotivs and leitharmonies of the piece. The next 5 movements (2 to 6) form extended central section of Concerto, with scherzo-like Dies Irae (2nd movement), meditative intermezzo Quantus tremor (3rd movement), dramatic climax of the piece Tuba mirum (4th movement), adagio-like Ingemisco et Confutatis (5th movement), and soft litany – double cadenza of piano solo and timpani – Lacrimosa (6th movement). The final 7th movement Lux aeterna introduces new stylistic elements that take their origin in classical and early romantic epoch. Unlike the previous 6 movements, finale suggests a wide scale of bright images – from soft chorals and delicate arpeggios to resolute exclamations and ecstatic passages in climax section. Compositional technique of the piece is based on dissonant atonal and modal harmony and chromatic melody. However, it incorporates a number of tonal and quasi-tonal elements. Several motives and harmonic sequences (common to all movements) undergo intensive development. Although many episodes of Concerto include an artistic playing with and around elements of various styles of the past, in the piece there are neither traditional forms nor collage technique and quotations. Being distorted and used fragmentarily, classical, romantic, modernistic and other idioms form the new stylistic paradigm.
Concerto is dedicated to its first performer Denys Proshayev.
Alexander Shchetynsky
© 2015 by Alexander Shchetynsky