| Dies irae |
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Opera pictura in four acts Total duration: 35' 00 13332/4332/7/male choir, alto soloist, strings (waiting for first performance) [Part I, from the beginning] [Part II, from the beginning] [Part III, from the middle of the part] [Part IV, from the beginning]
Dies Irae - Day of Wrath The work is in four parts and written for symphony orchestra, male choir and alto solo. The total duration is approximately 35 minutes.
One of the spiritual influences of this composition is the medieval Dies Irae - melody and accompanying text, used previously by many famous composers. This melody and the original text appear however only allusively, otherwise the thematic material is the composers own. In part I the Dies Irae text is expressed as a morse-code rhythm played by wind instruments and in part II the Dies Irae melody is used as a clearly defined citation in transitional passages of the male choir texture.
The text is taken from chapter 20 of the Revelations, Final Destruction of Satan, which is sung by the choir and at the end of the work from the opening words of Genesis, sung by the alto soloist. The composition has its origin in an intense intuitive feeling opposing war, anarchy, terrorism and man's unbounded hatred. The over-all mood of the work is somber in parts I (Dies Irae), II ('Till The Thousand Years were Over) and III ( Final Destruction of Satan), but part IV (Genesis) is marked by tentative hope as expressed in the alto solo part. The nature of the composition is pluralistic or postmodern and thus incorporating various musical techniques and styles. The majority of the work is "free-tonalistic"and one central characteristic is the use of broad tone fields on the strings.
Dies irae instrumentation - Strumenti dell' orchestra: Piccolo 4 Corni F (Fa) Timpani Alto solo Violini I |
