w18828
| Title | Judaic Mosaic |
| Contributors |
Jane Serter (composer) |
| Composition date | |
| Duration (mins) | 0 |
| Category | accompanied instrumental |
| Instrumentation | Fl Pno |
| Commissioned by | |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | |
| Notes | |
| Programme Note | Suggesting the dawn of something ancient, the piece opens with flute alone playing a single note, which is microtonally inflected. Gradually, more notes are added. Still with little harmony, the flute is joined by the piano, but the latter represents the sound of a crisp drum, rather than a piano. In biblical times, drum and tambourines of various types were used, accompanying a single line of music. An archetypically "Jewish" tune emerges. This melody is the composer's own. Simple harmony is now added on the piano. Some of the pitches have unusual tunings, as music of the past employed different scales, and pitches were not so rigidly fixed. The tune undergoes a metamorphosis and becomes a twelves note row which is then fragmented very rhythmically. The "row" is transported to the highest pitches of the piano, while the flute has "Eastern" modes and scales. The music then becomes much faster and after a lively, original introduction, part of the theme from a piece of Yiddish music called "Romania, Romania" is used. It has a vivacious foot-stomping quality and is used as a tribute to the composer's paternal grandparents who came from Romania! The music becomes even faster as part of the rhythm is retained, but the pitches are transformed and a chaotic atmosphere is invoked. The music drives onwards and upwards. The piece ends with a very slow section, where some of the earlier material is fragmented and refracted in a sad lament. Jane Serter August 2010 |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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