infotext:
Ruben Seroussi – chamber music The works on this CD are the result of my many years of collaboration as a composer (and occasionally as a guitarist) with the Meitar Ensemble. The impression of a retrospective that this selection might create is purely coincidental; the pieces follow the instrumental combinations of the ensemble and its delightful idea of playing existing pieces over and over again while commissioning new ones. Opposite is positive and The Years of the Duck created as commissioned works for the ensemble; the two trios (Jazz…a propos de Matisse and Ce discreet charm…) were composed long before that, but they were important milestones in the development of the ensemble and remained in its repertoire season after season. Jazz…a propos de Matisse for violin, cello and piano (1991) The title refers to a book of silhouettes published by the painter Henri Matisse in 1946, which contains the artist's own texts among the rhythmic and colorful panels. It was his intention to use these brush-written texts to balance the emotional tension that the images create in the viewer. The lyrics themselves, despite their seemingly marginal role, express in a somewhat prosaic way the same poetic mood that inspired the paper cutouts. I tried to create sound images in sharp and differentiated tones, with an almost graphic, visual character. I have set my soundscapes in a continuous musical prose that develops from a mysterious, hazy state to a point where its shape reveals itself as a propensity for primary rhythmic perception in the spirit of »swing«. As the piece progresses, as if in reaction to the irresistible pull of the basic rhythm, a musical pattern emerges in various forms, moving from the lowest register to the highest and lightest; this process leads to the various "images" in the sense of a kind of musical-graphic imagery. Towards the end of the piece, similar to the table of contents in Matisse's book, there is a brief recapitulation of all the "pictures" in the composition; a mosaic-like impression emerges, enhancing their plastic aspect and emphasizing their departure from any musical process in time. '…through the keyboard' for solo piano (2011) In this piece I deliberately limited myself to the keys of the piano and avoided all the advanced playing techniques that are so commonly used these days. However, the title should not only express this a priori compositional decision, but also ask for the possibility of achieving a new sense of tonal meaning beyond the mere pitch identity of the piano keys. In addition, in the work I tried to create different musical planes that are connected in an imaginary three-dimensional way - and even the impression of a musical protagonist crossing these planes as if they were transparent. The acoustic idea of the pairs of opposites transparency / opacity and superficiality / depth formed the starting point for the piece. While working on it, I read the novel again Morel's invention by Adolfo Bioy Casares. His play with the superimposition of different realities (true and artificial) has had a noticeable impact on the compositional process. The piece was composed for my son Daniel and is lovingly dedicated to him; the recording on this CD was recorded by him. Ce discreet charme… Homage to Luis Buñuel for viola, clarinet and piano (1990) This piece was composed as a tribute to the great Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel (1900-1984). The title - a combination of two of his film titles - suggests on the one hand a certain timbre found in the viola and the low register of the clarinet, and on the other hand the appeal of the absurd and irrational elements that characterize the work of the genius director . In my composition I try to follow the artistic logic that characterizes Buñuel's cruel and determined handling of illogical, ambiguous and anarchic situations. The absurdity of this confrontation between method and content leads to a certain kind of black humor or charm. There are some references to specific moments in Buñuel's films: the predominant melodic motif, which I call "running nowhere", alludes to the bourgeois who The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie intentionally walking down an empty street; the fleeting entertainment music at the end of Viridiana; and especially the moment of "freezing" in the same film, where the beggar's banquet turns into Leonardo's Last Supper is transformed. I have attempted to emulate it (quoting Buñuel's own visual citation) by using a similar excerpt from the end of the Adagio of Bach's organ works Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major BWV 564 used. Opposite is positive for flute, bass clarinet, guitar, violin and cello (2013) As the title aphoristically expresses, this work grew out of the idea of the contrast between a continuous, organic flow and a counter-reaction to it, a protest, a »negative« or rupture event. From a philosophical point of view, these two attitudes - on the one hand the search for a logical sequence with a self-contained logic, on the other hand the liberating break out of it - seemed to me like the two poles that lead to the necessary tension, to the "tone" to make life always to continue. (And the music...) The piece was conceived spontaneously as an interplay of the two postures. This created a musical storyline with roles that constantly oscillate between stability/continuity and reaction/discontinuity. This process led me (as a "misguided composer") to a place that surprised me as a revelation: the respiratory system of inhalation and exhalation...perhaps the most fundamental system of life. The Yearnings of the Duck, In Memoriam Dudu Geva for flute, clarinet, bassoon, violin, cello and piano (2008) The work is dedicated to the memory of the artist and comic book creator Dudu Geva (1950-2005). In keeping with its theme, it uses very few simple, plastic musical gestures. I even imitated the sketchy technique of comic drawing, using a single melodic gesture in its four possible forms. The duck (main character in comic series like The Duck's Song and The Silence of the Duck) is a character who combines the most physically limited, grotesque, and "lowest" qualities of being with the deluded conceit of being a charming, almost "Don Juan-esque" creature. »He« arrogantly goes to parties and invites the most beautiful women, straight from the magazines and the glamorous world of images, to spend their time with him. The unfortunate consequences are not long in coming... The musical narrative follows this fatal circular process of hope and inevitable, violent failure. Ruben Seroussi |
program:
[01] Jazz…a propos de Matisse for violin, cello and piano (1991) 14:13 Moshe Aharonov, violin [02] '…through the keyboard' for solo piano (2011) 12:56 Daniel Seroussi, piano [03] Ce discreet charme… Homage to Luis Buñuel for viola, clarinet and piano (1990) 09:33 Moshe Aharonov, viola [04] Opposite is positive for flute, bass clarinet, guitar, violin and cello (2013) 14:14 Hagar Shachal, flute [05] The Yearnings of the Duck, In Memoriam Dudu Geva for flute, clarinet, bassoon, violin, cello and piano (2008) 09:01 Roy Amotz, flute total playing time 60:28 Meitar Ensemble World Premiere Recordings |
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