Le nuove composizioni
per fisarmonica della “Chigiana”
2003, August 9
Chigiana Academy of Siena
On 9 August 2003, therefore, the final concert of the Composition course was held as part of the musical specialization courses of the Chigiana Academy of Siena. The accordion appears in three of the ten pieces on the program; more precisely, in Aussi les cristaux s’vaporent… by Michele Epifani, Item by Vincenzo Gualtieri and Clouds gang by Salvatore Piras.
Aussi les cristaux s’évaporent… is a trio for violin, accordion and percussion. It is a piece of great depth: the author offers us a meditation … on the author himself! The fundamental question is how much the composer can (or should) control the flow of his music. From an instrumental point of view, the piece shines for different overall ideas: the singular idea of exploiting the possibilities of beats that the sound of the accordion offers in the lowest register as an articulating element stands out. It is then picked up by the percussionist, in fact; it is a physical phenomenon that determines the ensemble playing, and the ancient musizieren is therefore relived in a completely original guise.
Item is a piece for the accordion alone, so it invests the performer with an absolute protagonism; the author requires great technical expertise from the performer, since the piece could be summarized in two instrumental gestures: on the one hand, sound control, on the other, digital speed. The first gesture is exposed with the appearance of static harmonies that must come out of nowhere, and return to nothing after a reverberation that recalls organ sounds; the second proposes a virtuosic continuum of notes that reveal themselves to flourish on pedal sounds also of organ ancestry. But there is more: Vincenzo Gualtieri also enriches his piece with intimately instrumental suggestions, such as the characteristic breath of the accordion bellows, and the vibrato, another accordion peculiarity. In fact, unlike the vibrato of the string instruments, it is produced by the variability in the intensity of the sound, and not by the variability in the intonation of the same.
Finally, Clouds gang is the piece that brought together the whole quintet making up the ensemble. Salvatore Piras was able, his own peculiarity, to interpret the dynamic plasticity that the instrumental team offered him, in a Ligetian dimension, to quote the introductory words of the same teacher of the course, Maestro Azio Corghi.
The new compositions for accordion of the “Chigiana” Academy Aussi les cristaux s’évaporent… is a trio for violin, accordion and percussion. It is a composition of great depth: the author offers us a meditation …on the Author himself! The fundamental question is how much the composer can (or should) control the flow of their music. From an instrumental point of view, the piece shines for different reasons, for example the singular intuition of exploiting the beats that the sound of the accordion offers in the lowest register as an articulating element. It is then picked up by the percussionist: the fluency of the piece is determined by a physical phenomenon and the ancient musizieren is therefore relived in a completely original guise.
Item is a piece for accordion alone, so it invests the performer with an absolute leading role; the author requires great technical expertise from the performer, since the piece could be summarized in two instrumental gestures: on the one hand, the control of the sound, on the other, finger speed. The first gesture is exposed by static harmonies that must come out of nowhere and return to nothing after a passage that sounds similar to an organ; the second proposes a virtuoso continuum that reveals itself over deep pedal sounds. But there’s more: Vincenzo Gualtieri also enriches his piece with intimately instrumental suggestions, such as the characteristic breath of the accordion bellows, and vibrato, another accordion peculiarity. In fact, the accordion vibrato is different if compared to the vibrato played on string instruments, because it is produced through the varying of intensity of sounds, and not through the varying of their intonation.
Finally, Clouds gang is the composition that brought together the entire quintet (violin, clarinet, cello, accordion and percussion). Salvatore Piras was able, his own peculiarity, to interpret with great plasticity the dynamics the instrumental team offered him, in a Ligetian dimension, to quote the introductory words of the same teacher of the course, Maestro Azio Corghi.
