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- Arne Nordheim
Epitaffio (1964)
(Epitaffio per Orchestra & Nastro Magnetico)- Edition Wilhelm Hansen Copenhagen (World)
- 2.2.3.sx.1/1.1.1.1/timp.perc/hp.pf.cel.egtr/tp/str
- 11 min
Programme Note
Epitaffio for orchestra and magnetic tape (1963, revised 1977) was first performed in Stockholm in 1964 and is dedicated in memoriam to the brilliant Norwegian flautist Alf Andersen (1928-62). It is an unusually heartfelt and moving work and it is completely based on sound and sound modulations between the extremes of descant and bass, or, as Nordheim puts it, "light and dark at the same time". Central to the orchestra are 4 percussionists, using mainly metal instruments; triangles, tam-tams, bells, cymbals, chimes, vibraphone, etc. and on the tape which comes in at the end of the work there is an electronically processed version of the poem Ed è subito sera (And suddenly it's evening) by Salvatore Quasimodo, for voices. Nordheim says: "Three solitary words, SOLO - TERRA -SERA (alone - earth - evening) from Quasimodo's poem occupied my thoughts from time to time. Their function is that of sound and of emotional signals, which initate more profound phases in the composition". These words stand out clearly from the sonic world of the tape, which gives the work both a new dimension of sound and an extended, almost cosmic perspective.
- From the CD by Aurora Records NCD-B 4931
Alf Andersen in memoriam
- From the CD by Aurora Records NCD-B 4931
Alf Andersen in memoriam