IL FLAUTO
il flauto e le nuove tendenze cap 5
intervista a BERNARD RANDS
Ho incontrato il compositore americano Bernard Rands in occasione dell'esecuzione di un suo pezzo per flauto solo dal titolo "Memo 4" una sorta di sequenza di Berio "americana", presso l'Università della Florida (giornate di Musica contemporanea) e presso il Colorado College lo scorso anno. (2002) A Bernard ho rivolto alcune domande circa la sua concezione del pezzo per flauto.
1) Come è nata l'idea di scrivere Memo 4 e in quale contesto è stato
composto?
How is born the idea to compose Memo 4 and in wich contest it appears?
MEMO 4 is one of a series of works for solo instruments which have been
composed over the past 30 years. There are now ten MEMOS - for Contrabasso
(1), Trombone (2), Arpa (3), Flauto(4), Pianoforte (5), Alto Sassofono (6),
Voce Femminile (7), Oboe (8), Violoncello (9), Chitarra (10) and soon to be
one for Clarinetto Basso (11) - for Guido!!!
MEMO 4 was commissioned by English flautist Judith Pearce who is currently
recording it as part of a CD which will contain all the MEMOS to date. I have
always been interested in virtuosity, particularly that virtuosity which
serves new music's demands and explorations. The performers for whom the
MEMOS were composed are virtuosi whose musical intelligence (in addition to
their instrumental agility) brings a special dimension to their performance
and interpretation of music of all periods, but especially new music.
Performers for whom their instrument is not just a medium for brilliant
display, but one also for inquiry. Perhaps the single, influential model for
this series of pieces is the series of SEQUENZE by Luciano Berio, and I, as a
former pupil of Berio, am acutely aware of that monumental series. However,
my musical concerns are different though I share his attitude to virtuosity.
2) Quali sono gli elementi portanti della composizione?
Wich is is the most structural elements of the composition?
2) There are two contrasting musical elements which are constantly
alternated and juxtaposed as each undergoes transformations. The first
element has a "fanfare -like" quality requiring loud, bright, often staccato
sound production; the second has a softer, sustained, lyrical, almost
"elegiac" character. These two are gradually influenced by each other - each
"borrowing" specific elements from the other and so are continuously
transformed as they shift registers, change dynamic range and undergo
elaborations. Ultimately, the concern of the music is to evolve a
contrapuntal discourse on an essentially monodic instrument, by fast
alternations of register, dynamic, articulations and finally, at certain
moments, the illusion of two-voiced playing.
3) Ho notato un uso particolare del registro acuto,frullati e armonici:come
hai considerato le tecniche contemporanee per flauto?
I have notated a particular use of the high register,flatterzung
overtones:wich contemporary language for flute did you considered?
One thing which does NOT interest me as a composer is the use of so-called
extended techniques as an exotic element in my music. The explorations and
inquiry I mentioned earlier certainly include technical extensions of the
instrument, but only in as much as they serve an integral function of the
musical discourse and idea -- NOT as isolated sound effects which contribute
little or nothing to the musicality of the composition.
4)in quali altre composizioni importanti hai usato il flauto e come
consideri il timbro del flauto nelle tue composizioni per ensemble o per
orchestra?
Where, in other compositions, do you use the flute and how do you use the
color of flute in your compositions for ensemble or orchestra.
The flute family figures largely in many of my compositions - singly or in
multiple combinations of flutes. Especially in my orchestra works, I rarely
have less that four flutes & Piccolo (as I also like to have four clarinets &
Bass Clarinet).
The dimension of TIMBRE (which has always been an unavoidable element in
music -- how could it be otherwise)? Was elevated to a conscious
compositional, structural level in the twentieth century and now we are able
to blend instrumental sounds which go beyond the bonders of family
characteristics so that the resulting timbres are rich, complex and often
mysterious and magical, giving the ensemble/orchestra an enlarged sound
spectrum of wonderful expressivity.
5) Quale può essere il futuro del flauto nella tua musica e in generale
nella musica contemporanea?
What about the future of the flute in your music and in the contemporary
music in general?
It follows from my answer to your last question that the flute, along with
all other music-making instruments and voices, will continue to be the
fundamental basis of my compositional focus. As a composer, I am a maximalist
(i.e., I want everything available to me to use for my creative/expressive
undertakings and will not conform to any dogma which threatens that)! I have
a view of music as a vast continuum of human experience, imagination and
historical evolution, continuity and renewal. Music's "truths" are not
confined to any one, limited segment of that spectrum and so it is the
responsibility of every composer, each in their individual way, to uncover a
tiny part of music's capacity as honestly and modestly as is their gift.
6)Un ultima domanda:quale situazione sta vivendo la musica contempemporanea
in USA oggi?
The last question:what is the situation of the new music in USA now?
As a voluntary exile - I emigrated from Europe to the United States some
thirty years ago - I have two observations in response to your question. The
first is that there is an enormous amount of activity, energy and
accomplishment over a wide and diverse range of music composition and
performance. In Boston, where I live, there are at least ten ensembles
dedicated to the commissioning and performance
of new music each of which has regular concert series. New York is similarly
well served. Most cities across the country have at least one local ensemble
which devotes its programs to the performance of new music. Universities with
music schools employ composers in teaching/resident capacities and invariably
have new music ensembles performing on a regular basis. The professional
performance level is extraordinarily high whether it be the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra or a campus ensemble of students. There is a healthy diversity of
compositional activity from that which derives from historical European
models and roots to that which is quintessentially American and feels no
allegiance to such. Being a country made up of "exiles" from all over the
globe, there are a multitude of musical strands, influences and
assimilations. Exciting!
My second observation, which no doubt is prompted by my own European origins
and professional training, is that we are a nation dominated by a pop
culture. Essentially protean, we endure the constant bombardment by radio,
TV, movie, record industry, public systems which purvey musak and other
banalities twenty-four hours a day. They dull our senses to music which is
more demanding and possibly more uplifting - but, what makes a profit (if
nothing else) is A-OK is the capitalist philosophy! I work, like all
composers who care deeply about serious art music, to offer alternatives.
Grazie infinite!
|
