1981-1985

 




COMPOSITIONS


Cariatides 

 

 

Violin, piano. Duration: 8m10s. Composed in 1984. Imposed work of the International Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in 1985. Recording: 1985 - PHONIC 1980 046. Peter Zazofsky, violin; Daniel Capelletti, piano. CD edition: 1996 - RENE GAILLY 2003/2. Published by Editions Jobert, Paris - JJ1061 - 1985. Dedicated to her Majesty the Queen Fabiola of Belgium.

 

The Greek Caryatids, who embody youth's grace, pure beauty and calm power, inspired me this tribute to the Woman, a series of six portraits where apparent weakness and contained strength, lightness and depth oppose and complete each other. Melodic in essence, "Cariatides" is developped in circles, in which the 3rd and the 4th parts are the expressive nucleus of the whole composition.

 



Disegni 

 

 

Cello, piano. Duration: 5m40s. Composed in 1981. Recording: 1985 - PHONIC 1980 046. Viviane Spanoghe, cello; Daniel Capelletti, piano. CD edition: 1996 - RENE GAILLY 2003/2.

 

Divided in three groups of characters, the "Disegni" are like drawings, pencil sketches full of spontaneousness. The evoked feelings of this informal and linear music follow each other rapidly, according to the natural rhythm of the human mind.

 



Due pezzi caratteristici

Piano solo, strings (44332). Duration: 8m50s. Composed in 1982. Created in 1986. Published by the CeBeDeM, Brussels - 1982.

 

 

As a pianist - as every pianist I guess - I was studying and playing a lot of Rachmaninov and Bartók several years ago, and the "Due pezzi caratteristici" (two characteristic pieces) for piano and string orchestra are an obvious tribute to my pianistic obsessions of the early eighties. I don't remember the exact circumstances of the premiere, a private concert in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, but I played the piano solo, just as for the recorded version of 1986, with the Vlaams Kamerorkest conducted by Arie Van Lysebeth.
 


Gestalt

2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in Bb, 2 bassoons, strings (65432). Duration: minimum 10m. Composed in 1987. Created at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique of Brussels on January 14, 1988 by the "Nieuwe Muziekgroep" ensemble, conducted by Marc De Smet. Published by the CeBeDeM, Brussels - 1987. Dedicated to Rüdiger Bohn. 

Gestalt is a complex work, combining traditional notation and specific items from the 20th century, like unpitched sounds and free harmonics for the strings, or special fingerings and multiphonics in the woodwinds parts. It is also one of my numerous works where I tried to avoid the notions of beginning and end. The piece is to be played in entirety at least two times. The conductor is then free to stop the execution at any moment, choosing rather a "uncomfortable" one, in order to give obviously the character of a unexpected end.
 

 
Miroirs 

Piano solo. Duration: 7m. Composed in 1982. Imposed work of the International Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in 1983. Recording: 1985 - PHONIC 1980 046. Daniel Capelletti, piano. CD edition: 1996 - RENE GAILLY 2003/2. Published by Daniel Capelletti, Brussels - 1983. Dedicated to Henri Dutilleux.

"Miroirs" is a piece based on reflection and symmetry, not so much from a concrete point of view than from a spiritual, mental one. Each musical phrase, each motive finds an expressive counterpart in a more intimist dimension. A series of eight notes provides the elemental material of the piece's nine developments.
 


Suite pour deux harpes 

2 harps. Duration: 9m. Composed in 1983. Recording: 1985 - PHONIC 1980 046. Francis Pierre and Fabrice Pierre, harps. CD edition: 1996 - RENE GAILLY 2003/2. Published by Editions Jobert, Paris - JJ1053 - 1984. Dedicated to Jacqueline Borot.

The word "suite" should be understood in a broad context that one may compare to the etymological significance of the word in the XVIIth century. This is indeed a collection of four pieces that have been brought together by the analogy of their elements, but which are nevertheless complete by themselves. The concept of "suite" is also expressed by the fact that one or more initial elements always come back in any new parts. The result is a gradually more complex writing that gives the work its particular dynamism.