Nikolaus Brass: Works for Ensemble

Nicholas Brass: One could say that pieces like Capriccio and last verses represent opposite poles on a scale of possible compositional attitudes. However, there are clear connections over the many years of the creation of the four pieces that we have now recorded. Regions keep appearing that I would now like to call, at a loss for a better expression, »musical vacuums« that virtually perforate the structure of the piece. Moments of silence that seem to call everything into question, as in Crack – shadow – fall. [...]

The latest work on this CD is – as the title suggests – the result of a double overwrite. Again, there was an older original, a 1. Transcript, which is now »erased« by the new piece. This 1. Transcript is an early duo for violin and viola (Dialogues of Love II) In the piece composed in 2020, 2. Transcript This duo is more of a spiritual than a musical reference point. The result is a very special sound body with a »viola-violin« or »violin-viola« made up of two soloists and an ensemble with flute, clarinet, trombone and string quintet. What I really had in mind was that the two solo instruments a instrument. And from this hybrid the ensemble sound would emerge.

Peter Tilling: My idea of ​​ensemble music is based on the works of the 1910s and 1920s, by Schönberg, Hindemith and Krenek, i.e. the time when the »ensemble« was created. With the founding of our ensemble risonanze erranti, I wanted to refer specifically to these historical roots in terms of sound and form, i.e. to a tradition of closed form. Above all, my aim was to create a new, »symphonic« ensemble sound, quite in contrast to the current Ensemble aesthetics. This is also reflected in our line-up, in which the harp, celesta and low instruments such as alto flute, English horn and bass clarinet play a central role. New music loves the high registers, very few people deal with the low sounds. Since our founding, when awarding composition commissions, I have repeatedly encouraged composers to devote themselves to this sound image in which the instrumental colors are integrated and heard out.