ADAM FERGLER for solo piano (2010)
www.adamfergler.eu
Copyright Š 2010 Adam Fergler
Instrumental Concerns A bowl gong (or similar) with a clear resonant tone is required and should be struck with a wooden mallet (or other device capable of producing a definite ‘ping’ at pppppp). The piano must have a third, sostenuto pedal. The una corda pedal should be artificially engaged throughout. This can be achieved by weighting the top of the pedal or wedging an object under the rear portion (once depressed).
Duration 10-20 minutes
Dynamics This piece focuses on the relationship between a pianist and their instrument during the process of producing very quiet sounds. The dynamic pp should be interpreted as noticeably quiet (that is, not at all moderate); pppp indicates the quietest reasonable dynamic achievable using ordinary playing methods; pppppp passages require the performer to tease sound from the instrument to the point that no sound may be produced at all (other than those resulting from the performer’s physical actions upon the instrument). The piece is conceived as an unbroken line from beginning to end; this line is coloured by dynamic changes to which the performer must be extremely sensitive. If at any point the pianist feels they have complete dynamic control they should seek to create ever finer dynamic shadings in order that a sense of uncertainty, concentration and potential failure persists. It’s entirely feasible that the quietest sounds produced won’t be heard by people sitting further than a few metres from the instrument.
Dynamics Rhythms are approximately relative and not intended to be taken literally. Even where rhythmic notation or a metronome mark implies precision a con licenza attitude should be adopted. Diamond noteheads indicate that the respective keys are to be prepared by depressing them silently until the double–escapement mechanism is engaged. The performer then pushes firmly on the keys to produce a quiet, delicate sound. Grace notes should be executed quickly but with no emphasis on the physical gestures required to perform them. As anti-gestures they’re intended to be heard in the same muted and tentative manner as the rest of the musical material in the piece (the second bar excepted).
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Notes joined by a pair of beams, the lower of which is wavy, should be played as a rhythmically uneven tremolo. This should be conceived as an unstable rocking motion; any similarity with a traditional tremolo (aside from the continual reiteration of two pitches) should be avoided. This technique persists throughout bar 5 (until the fermata is reached).
Notes on the Final Bar Using both hands, the low A key should be held below the double-escapement catch-point and rocked very subtly up and down to bring the hammer gradually closer to the string. The quietest possible sounding of that string is desired. The performer continues with this process until the pitch has sounded the number of times indicated in the score. The final chord should be repeated as many times as necessary to reach niente (which should be understood as a complete non-sounding of the strings). Once the strings fail to sound the action of performing this chord is repeated at least eleven times with no sound produced by the strings at any point. There will be some sound made by the action of pressing the keys.
Programme Note Chamber music, particularly in the form of a solo recital, is commonly perceived as a more intimate affair than other staged musical performances. The audience’s proximity to the solo musician and their subsequent ability to witness clearly the performer’s relationship with their instrument are no doubt responsible for this perception. In for solo piano these intimate relationships – the physical one between performer and instrument, and that perceptual one between audience and instrumentalist – are foregrounded and the perception of intimacy heightened. The pianist is instructed to perform at volumes from moderately quiet to almost inaudible. Indeed, the quietest moments may fail to speak. As the instrumentalist concentrates on coaxing sound from the piano the audience must listen with increasing concentration in order to hear the noises produced. Eventually, the sound of the performer acting upon the instrument – the physical intimacy of performance – is all that can be heard.
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