Ianarius (2018) for solo violin

Ianarius for solo violin

2018 Duration: ca. 5'

Daniel Godsil

Our name for the month of January is derived from that of the Roman god Janus: the two-faced god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings.

I composed this piece in late January, in a simultaneously looking-backward-looking-forward mood.

I had recently written a lot of difficult, high-energy music, and I wanted to step away from that mode and make this violin solo much simpler in style.

Looking back to my musical beginnings, I devised much of the harmonic material by simply putting my fingers on a violin fingerboard in cool shapes or configurations to see what sound combinations might result—much as I did as a 12-year-old beginning guitarist. 12-year-old metal-head-me also thought that the title track of Metallica's “And Justice For All...� was exactly what ancient Roman music sounded like (36-year-old-me still sort of thinks that), so this piece is a sort of homage to and a reworking or re-imagining of the Metallica song. -D.G.

Ianarius for solo violin

+ + b˙™ Œ Œ ‰ nœ ˙ Œ n œ> >

Stark; austere q = 52

I. vln

Daniel Godsil (2018)

3 &4

…* j‰ œ

senza vib.

b˙

poco vib.

b˙™

∑

˙™

f

** ossia: play the l.h. pizz with r.h.

& n œ –– Œ Œ bb œœœ ——

&

20

˙˙ ™™

& #˙

25

œœ … b ˙ J ‰

poco agitato

arco

∑ œ

œ

œœ–

0

l.v.

Œ œ

nœ œ

œœ

Cold (l'istesso tempo)

& Œ

‰ œj œ

∑

∏∏∏∏∏∏∏

∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏

∑

arco

∑

b b œœ Œ Œ

f

#œ

> #œ n œ

j– & œœ ‰ ‰ # œ>œ——

pizz. med. arp.

∑

∑

f

5

œjœ ‰ œ J

œœ

# œœ b œ œ œ œ œ poco

œ &# œ > # œœ Œ œœ n œ> œ>

∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏

slow arp.

f

15

med. arp.

∏∏∏∏∏

& b œ– & # œœœ– Œ Œ — >—

8

œ œ…

J ‰ Œ

f poss. p

* "whip" crescendo; stop the sound abruptly at rests

pizz. fast arp.

senza vib.

**

b˙˙

œœ

sub.

sub.

œ– Œ

˙˙ ™

Œ

∑

œ œ # œœ b œ œ poco

e=e

83

3

o œ 3 &8

30

œo œo œo œo œo œo œo œo œo œo œo œo œo œo œo R≈ R≈ R≈ R≈ R≈ R≈ R≈ R≈

Unvarying, uniform: every note played the exact same

f

sub.

sim.

o oœ œo œ 38 R≈ & ‰ œ J >+

46

&

œo

™ & b b Ȯ ™

52

p

b b Ȯ

∑

œo

∑

œo œo œo œo œo R≈ R≈ R≈

f sub.

sim.

poss.

or o œ œ ≈ ‰ ‰ ≈ œ R >+

œo R ≈

Frozen

or œ ≈ œo œo R≈ ‰

Oœ Oœ

e=e

43

∑

Warm

#˙ ™

∑

Œ

˙

poss.

Ȯ b b Oœ

Ȯ ™™

+ +3 + b ˙ ™ Œ Œ ‰ nœ n œ œ *

II. o

f poss.

œ œ…

J ‰ Œ f

* ossia: play the l.h. pizz with r.h.

59

Ritualistic q = 56

& b˙ ˙

p

64

& œ œ

œ

‰ œj œ

œ œ œ ˙

Œ

Œ # ˙ <n> œ œ Œ

p

#œ œ œ

Œ

Œ

Œ

∑

œ

<n> ˙˙ œ— Œ

o Œ Œ

#œ Œ

43 # œ b œ œ

œ

p

poco a poco accel.

Œ bœ œ

44 Œ n b ˙˙ œ œ œ œ

A little faster q = 66 arco

Œ

œœ ˙

#œ

75

∏∏∏∏∏∏

& ˙

œœ œ œ œ

& # œ # œ œœ cresc.

&# œœ Œ n œ>œ

#œ

˙

… Œ

p sub.

œ

& œ # œ # n œœ

j œ œ # œ # œ j

∏∏∏∏∏∏

œ Œ <n> œ #˙ Œ

pizz. fast arp.

69

4

nœ

œ b˙

‰ j Œ nœ – # œ œ œœ — p l.v.

f

p

molto

œ …

J ‰

molto

molto

œ œ

85

& œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ p

&

U ∑

˙

# ˙˙ ™™

j‰ œœ # ˙˙

˙˙

p

molto

&# œ – # œœ—– Œ n œ> —

pizz. med. arp.

#œ > Œ # œœ n œ>

Œ

f

œ œ œ œ œ

bœ p

Tempo I (q = 52)

∑

∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏

93

f

Œ

˙ ˙

& # n œœ n n œœ

#œ œ #œ

Œ

Πo

∑

˙™ # œ #œ Œ Œ

poco sul pont.

Œ b˙œ p

& n œ –– Œ œ b b œœ ——

slow arp.

∏∏∏∏∏∏∏

∏∏∏∏∏

œ

∏∏∏∏∏

bœ

∏∏∏∏∏∏

& nœ œ & & b œœ œœ bœ

81

Œ

As fast as possible ossia: I 98

&

U ∑

lunga

arco  #œ 0 œ œ

œ RÔ

II II

bœ œ

III III

0

œ RÔ

bœ

œ RÔ

#œ

IV 0

œ RÔ

#œ

œ RÔ

bœ

√ ∑

lunga

nœ RÔ >

# œ>

b œ> —

1/28-2/12/2018, Davis, CA