Farewell for violoncello solo (2002)
Violoncello
Duration: 4 minutes
Julius Berger
Title: - Length: 1 page - Date: - - Location:
Schott Musik International CB 176 / ISMN: 979-0-001-13632-7
Hummel's "Abschied" from 2002, contrary to the composer's original intention actually a farewell to life, is an enigmatically moving document of discord with its dynamic extremes, harmonics and torn notes.
Hummel's music expresses sadness, melancholy and silence, as if coming from another world. Berger succeeded in creating a moving interpretation that left the audience in breathless suspense until the pianissimo flageolet faded away.
The work 'Abschied', which Bertold Hummel wrote for solo cello shortly before his death in 2002, was premiered by Berger. In it, the cellist listens to the composer's last thoughts and paints a harrowing picture of human creativity and creative power in the face of death.
Miquel Cabruja
Foreword
In early summer 2002, my father wrote the first sketches for this work, which was commissioned for the farewell of his colleague (in the Guardini Foundation) Hermann Josef Schuster and premiered by Julius Berger in Berlin on 9 September 2002 to mark the occasion. The letters of the honoured man, which can be set to music, form the sound material of the composition.
A few days before his death (9 August 2002), he gave me final instructions for the sketch sheet, which I then gave the title Abschied (Farewell).
A work which, in its brevity, is deeply moving with its soulful, simple and redemptive power.
Stefan David Hummel