Description
Programme Note by Poul Ruders
November 2000
The title of the piece 'Abysm' derives from the literary quotation heading the first of the 3 movements of the entire work.
Not uncommonly writers put a motto - often a short quotation from famous literary pieces ... on the page preceding their own work, as an 'appetizer' of sorts or a spiritual and mental companion to what the reader is about to experience.
Thatīs exactly what I had in mind, when I set out to compose this piece for BCMG. Each of the 3 movements is inspired by a short literary quotation taken out of its original contents, serving solely as a spiritual inspirator for the music that follows; in other words, itīs the beauty and profundity of the words and the many-layered associations yielded by them, which are mirrored in the music.
The 3 tone-poems - or tone-chapters, rather, are:
1)
ABYSM
'...What seest thou else/In the dark backward and abysm of time?'(W. Shakespeare 'The Tempest')
2)
BURNING
'...put your face on the burning sand and on the earth of the road, since all those who are wounded by love must have the imprint on their face, and the scar must be seen'('The Conference of the Birds' by Farid Ud-din Altar)
3)
SPECTRE
'...The Spectre Rose in Pain/A Shadow blue obscure & dismal.'(W.Blake 'Vala or the Four Zoas')
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