Program Notes
The basis of the compositional material for this work is the Canzon a 12 in echo by Gabrieli, originally a three-chorus piece from 1608. Motifs, melodic cells, and chords from this work have been placed in a new context, transformed, expanded, or adapted. All sorts of triple choruses are featured, groups playing in close succession (echo), playing fragments, melodies or chords in turns, and using various counterpoint techniques, such as the canon and imitations. The work consists of five movements, each with its own character and atmosphere: Canzon, Toccata, Chorale, Scherzo, and Finale. The first movement opens with the original Canzon by Gabrieli. Suddenly, a hammering motif appears, like an echo, announcing a furious allegro that breaks loose shortly after in Movement 2. In this second movement, Toccata, the music develops throughout sparkling solos, virtuoso passages, rhythmic shifts, and echo effects towards a grand tutti in which a chorale theme is jubilantly accompanied by brassy motifs that follow one after the other. Movement three, Chorale, begins with dissonant sounds from different corners of the room. The use of mutes creates a magical and mystifying atmosphere. Various soloists come forward, while the brass choirs to the left and right produce a stereo effect in an interaction with the soloist or central group. The first part of the melody, as well as the accompaniment in the fourth movement, the Scherzo, is based exclusively on the first notes of the opening Canzon. In a kind of scherzo, a burlesque and satirical theme develops, returning in various ways and building up until it rings out in a dissonant canon in the three groups of the band. In the fifth movement, Finale, we return to the grand closing passage of the original Canzon, enhanced by hammering motifs and virtuoso scale patterns. The work ends with a last repeat of the thematic material in a spectacular climax.
