TROIS PIÈCES D’HOMMAGE

Trois Pièces d’Hommage
for instrumental duet

• in four versions:
  • Alto Flute & Piano
  • Oboe d’amore & Piano
  • Clarinete in A & Piano
  • Soprano Saxophone & Piano
• composition date: 1993-1998/ rev.2000
• duration: ca. 11 min. (4+4+3)
• movements:
  I – Romance… d’hommage à Copland
  II – Elegie… d’hommage à Lutoslawski
  III – Lied… d’hommage à Schumann
• partial premiere (only movements I and II): 01/10/1997 | Luís Carvalho (clarinet) /
  Rui Pinheiro (piano)
• official premiere (final complete version): 01/11/2000 | Luís Carvalho (clarinet) /
  Marian Pivka (piano)
• other premieres:
  • version oboe d’amore & piano: 10/02/2012 – Porto, Clube Literário do Porto | Samuel Bastos (oboe) / David Silva (piano)
  • version soprano-saxophone & piano: 29/04/2012 – Bairrada, Centro Cultural da Bairrada | Henrique Portovedo (saxophone) / David Knotts (piano)
  • version alto-flute & piano: 27/06/2012 – 2nd International Chamber Music Meeting at Universidade de Évora | Jorge Salgado Correia (flute) / Helena Marinho (piano)

The Trois Pièces d’Hommage are actually three small études on specific sonorities. In fact, the first intended title was «3 Studies of Sonority», but as the process of composition evolved the influence of specific composers on each of the pieces became ever more obvious to the point that I decided those influences should be reflected in the titles of every one of the movements. Each one of this reflects also my acknowledgement of the mentioned composers and some particularity in their oeuvre: the first, for instance, takes as it’s germ a single moment of dissonance in Copland’s «Clarinet Concerto» initial movement; the second the incredible polyrhythms and sometimes harsh polytonality of Lutoslawski’s «Dance Preludes»; and the last, again one particular moment in the beginning of Schumann’s initial lieder from «Dichterliebe» cycle, where to the note sung by the voice the piano answers with a completely diverse harmony. An additional sound particularity of these pieces is the use of less common instruments as recitalists alternatives (Alto Flute, Oboe d’amore, A-Clarinet or Soprano Saxophone), this way giving even more sense to the “sonority studies” idea that ruled the initial plan for this small cycle.

buy sheet music:
https://www.editions-ava.com/pt/trois-pieces-dhommage

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