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- Tarik O'Regan
Latent Manifest (2010)
- Novello & Co Ltd (World)
A BBC Radio 3 commission for the BBC Proms 2010. First performed in the Royal Albert Hall, London, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Litton on 14 August 2010.
- 2(pic)22+bcl.2+cbn/4431/timp.3perc/hp.pf.cel/str [min.14.12.10.8.6]
- 7 min
Programme Note
Latent Manifest can be described as a “transcription” of intimations found in the first movement (Adagio) of J. S. Bach’s Sonata No. 3 for Solo Violin in C Major (BWV 1005). My cue is from the composer himself; when he adapted this movement for solo harpsichord (BWV 968), the result was more a fantasia than a conventional transcription.
By introducing elements of four-part polyphony to an instrument only really capable of playing a single line, the “illusions” which Bach plays upon the ear of the listener across the entire set of six partitas and sonatas for solo violin (BWV 1001-6, completed in 1720) are mesmerising.
One need only listen to the realisations of two different interpreters of the Adagio to comprehend just how much of Bach’s composition lies in allusion: almost all the rhythmic and melodic ideas one actually hears are simply not written down. When compared aurally, and perhaps even in terms of technique, to Steve Reich’s important 1967 work Violin Phase (where arguably the compositional interest is found in between the written notes, in the process of temporal variation, as the patterns begins to “phase”), one sees that Bach really was ahead of his time!
Thus, whilst a direct transcription of the notes on the page of Bach’s C Major Adagio magnified for orchestra is possible, it would account for much less than half of the musical experience when compared to hearing a performance of the original solo work. Instead, Latent Manifest expands “the other half’ – the experience of implication.
As an exploration of Bach’s hidden harmonies and textures, from a single line which opens the piece to a hinting at the myriad layering of performative difference, I try – in this orchestral piece – to present my own evidence of Bach’s compositional intent in his work for solo violin.
Tarik O’Regan
By introducing elements of four-part polyphony to an instrument only really capable of playing a single line, the “illusions” which Bach plays upon the ear of the listener across the entire set of six partitas and sonatas for solo violin (BWV 1001-6, completed in 1720) are mesmerising.
One need only listen to the realisations of two different interpreters of the Adagio to comprehend just how much of Bach’s composition lies in allusion: almost all the rhythmic and melodic ideas one actually hears are simply not written down. When compared aurally, and perhaps even in terms of technique, to Steve Reich’s important 1967 work Violin Phase (where arguably the compositional interest is found in between the written notes, in the process of temporal variation, as the patterns begins to “phase”), one sees that Bach really was ahead of his time!
Thus, whilst a direct transcription of the notes on the page of Bach’s C Major Adagio magnified for orchestra is possible, it would account for much less than half of the musical experience when compared to hearing a performance of the original solo work. Instead, Latent Manifest expands “the other half’ – the experience of implication.
As an exploration of Bach’s hidden harmonies and textures, from a single line which opens the piece to a hinting at the myriad layering of performative difference, I try – in this orchestral piece – to present my own evidence of Bach’s compositional intent in his work for solo violin.
Tarik O’Regan
Media
O'Regan: Latent Manifest
Scores
Preview the score
Reviews
Its rhythmic drive made for an exhilarating ride...and left me wanting more
15th May 2014
…a gracefully-controlled meditation on a single Bach phrase.
17th August 2010
...atmospheric [and] imaginative.
17th August 2010
…enjoyable and well written.
16th August 2010
Tarik O'Regan's Latent Manifest drew on a few bars from a solo violin sonata to create a more personal canvas, taking us a long way from a literal reworking into the realms of evanescent fantasy, with delicately evocative results….
16th August 2010
…Tarik O’Regan’s Latent Manifest was a beguiling response to response itself – a mirage of intimations and allusions to his own experience of hearing Bach’s third solo Violin Sonata.
16th August 2010
[Latent Manifest] created an atmosphere all of its own.
16th August 2010
Discography
A Celestial Map of the Sky
- LabelNMC Recordings
- Catalogue NumberNMC D220
- ConductorJamie Phillips / Sir Mark Elder
- EnsembleManchester Grammar School Choir / Hallé Orchestra / Halle Youth Choir
- Released24th February 2017