Looks simple enough, right? Ok, what piece is it? What composer? What century was it written? If you answer correctly you get a lifetime subscription to The Music Salon! With free comment privileges.
I will provide the answers in a couple of days. I don't think there is a way you can use Google Search to find the answer, but I could be wrong.
Good luck!
I think I recognise it! Is it Tabula Rasa by Arvo Part?
ReplyDeleteHello Mr. Townsend,
ReplyDeleteI think this is Tabula Rasa by Arvo Part. I started reading the solo part and then the orchestration and accompaniement reminded me of his style so I searched for a perusal score online.
This is an extraordinary blog you have, I enjoy reading your articles a great deal.
Juan Gobbi
Man, you guys are good! Yes, Tabula Rasa by Arvo Pärt. I might have looked at that and said "Vivaldi?" But not if I played through it. I have a very astute commentariat.
ReplyDeleteI just picked up the score, which I am going to analyze, and looking through it my first thought was, except for the prepared piano part, this doesn't even look like contemporary music.
Thanks, Juan. Keep reading!
I was going to say Duet for Two Violins and String Orchestra by Steve Reich but the accompaniment part didn't seem right as I remember it to be a bit more active. If you look at it for a few seconds you can see it is not Baroque by the way the violin parts move against each other. So I get the right church but wrong pew award.
ReplyDeleteActually I did think Vivaldi at first glance, but once I begin playing through the parts in my head, as it were, I was sure I knew what it was -- it's such a distinctive piece. I look forward to your analysis.
ReplyDeleteThanks all, for your comments. Out of many interesting pieces by Pärt, this one has always stood out to me, partly because of the use of the prepared piano which gives it an almost gamelan effect. The recurring punctuation of the big low chord is like the colotomic structure (as Jaap Kunst called it) of the gamelan.
ReplyDelete