Epigrams for strings (op. 69a, 1978)
I. Moderato, II. Andantino, III. Allegro con brio, IV. Andante, V. Vivace
String orchestra
Duration: 11 minutes
Orchestra of the Werkgemeinschaft für Musik e.V. | Bertold Hummel
Title: Epigrams for Strings op. 69a - Length: 15 pages - Dated: I. 6 Aug. 78 II 6 Aug. 78 III. 7 Aug. 78 IV. 12 Aug. 78 V. Dorfgastein 14 Aug. 78 - Location: Bavarian State Library Munich
C.F. Peters Musikverlag EP 8643 ISMN: 9790014069643
The epigram is characterised by brevity: in poetry, it is a two-liner that is often satirically coloured, but can also condense life's wisdom into a maxim. The musical epigrams op. 69a by Bertold Hummel, with which the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra opened its concert on Friday, are correspondingly dense and concisely formulated: a serious, forceful composition for strings in which the structure is significant and the colour is merely an ingredient. This was convincingly expressed by the musicians under the sensitive direction of guest conductor Marcus R. Bosch - the Würzburg composer, who died in 2002 and was a frequent guest at GSO concerts, would certainly have enjoyed it.
This highly sensitive music, which requires a high degree of concentration and tonal stability with its finely differentiated sound surfaces, became the highlight of the programme.
The Neue Orchester Kronberg combined this harmony by Mozart with the "Epigram for Strings" by composer Bertold Hummel (1925-2002), composed in 1978, in a kaleidoscopic manner and almost approaching a musical rupture. The pleasure and harmony of Mozart dissolved for moments and Hummel's epigram demanded the utmost concentration from both the audience and the musicians. It created soundscapes that built up and released tension and moved in free tonal space.
The Epigrams for Strings op. 69a were written in 1978 for a young string orchestra. In contrasting movements, memorable little sound images are created using simple means. Throbbing tone repetitions, short motifs, shifting thirds, fourths and fifths as well as easy melodic sequences in free tonal space characterise these short pieces, which appeal directly to both players and listeners.
Bertold Hummel
Bertold Hummel's Epigrams are five self-contained, unpretentious but sharply characterised miniatures that combine constructivism and sensual espressivo. Tensions are built up and released again in a naturally flowing manner. The playing style, like the entire gesture, remains traditional, the work's message clear and distinct, sometimes almost didactic - for example in the introduction to the B-A-C-H fugato.
(Suitable for school orchestra, scoring with 2.2.2.1, playing time approx. 10 minutes) Thomas Gartmann