Cæsarum was written in 2004, as a work for my composition class at the National Conservatory of Music. It is based on extracts from De Vita Cæsarum, a work written in 121 AD by the Roman historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, (commonly known as Suetonius). The piece is divided in six sections (one for each Caesar, from Julius to Nero) and requires four percussion players – each with a battery of instruments –, a reciter and a choir that only speaks rhythmically (the percussion players also recite a few phrases). As a result of this, no definite pitch is ever produced during the performance of the piece. All rhythms are derived from a rhythmic row, which is exposed in its original form in measures 4 through 11. The row is then submitted to several procedures of transformation which include spreading it over various instruments, doubling/halving all durations, replacing durations with rests, etc.
