‘What does the harp suggest?’, Louise Glück asks towards the end of her poem, ‘Fugue’:

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What does the harp suggest?
I know what you want —
you want Orpheus, you want death.
Orpheus who said “Help me find Eurydice.”
Then the music began, the lament of the soul watching the body vanish.

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Much of the music I have written mirrors scenes from Orpheus’s life (and brutal death), a subject that is very well served in Western art music. The title, and form, of Glück’s poem also seemed relevant to my piece, replete as it is with simple contrapuntal writing.

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Throughout the piece, there is reference to harp- or lyre-like sounds, brought out, above all, by the unusual sound of cimbalom and the inside of the piano.

The piece is cast in one long, continuous movement. During its latter half there is a sequence of variations out of which the music gradually spirals towards its violent conclusion.

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© Sebastian Black

 

Photos: Bálint Hrotkó | Péter Eötvös Foundation. The world premiere in Budapest (photos one and three); in preparation for the performance with Péter Eötvös (photo two).