Reconnoitering In memory of my grandfather Nicolas
For chamber ensemble
Vasileios Filippou 2015, 8 min.
Program notes: Inspired by ‘Reconnoitering’, a painting of 1911 by John Singer Sargent, this piece is an exploration of the harmonic series as the main approach of my compositional process. Nostalgic, skeptical, calm, patient… Looking at the painting, the facial expression of the old man surrounded by a colorful scenery of mountains is striking and he very much reminds me of my grandfather. The structure of the piece is based on the memories I have from my grandfather Nicolas to whom I dedicate the piece.
Glossary of symbols & instructions :
Everything included in a box is to be interpreted freely in terms of dynamics, articulations and length of pitches/sounds and also repetition – always with a conscious realization of the overall sound during those moments. The wavy line indicates the duration of the of the material played. When a dashed arrow is indicated change the sound gradually (ex. vibrato)
Applies to strings. Dashed crescendo or decrescendo sings indicate normal to heavy & slow bow or vice versa respectively.
Instrumentation : Flute Cor Anglais Bass Clarinet in Bb Bassoon Horn in F Cymbals (medium and large suspended) Temple Blocks (five in various sizes) Vibraphone Harp Violin Viola Violoncello Double bass
Duration approximately 8 minutes