University of Oldenburg
Honorable Mention for the work ‘Or for four’ (Four Percussionists) in the Carl von Ossietzky – Composition Award, organized by the Carl von Ossietzky University (Oldenburg, Germany).
Four percussionists meet. The conversation begins calmly, quietly: three simple impulses executed softly by the first musician and immediately restated with variations, in a more reflective, conscious manner.
The dialogue comes to life, centered on the melodic and rhythmic development of the generating cell. The musicians engage with one another, propose variants, digress, and attempt to pick up the thread of the discourse. The percussion instruments overlap, merge, test new combinations, and aspire to reach a common point of view.
Whether in its initial form or transfigured into manifold variants, the triplet is always present in the musicians' thoughts and in the gestures of the percussion. The conversation draws to a close: the phrases become agitated, the frequency of the impulses increases, and the repetitions of the initial cell proceed with exasperation.
One last, stentorian statement of the triplet... then silence. For at least three seconds. Or for four?
