beyond the barrens 2023
for mixed sextet
Written for Schallfeld Ensemble, Pierre-André Valade,
and the Klangspuren Schwaz Composer's Lab 2023
Premiere info
Zinajda Kodrič, flutes (concert and bass)
Stephanie Schoiswohl, baritone sax and prepared tube
George Lolas, accordion
Patrick Skrilecz, piano and objects
Lorenzo Derinni, violin and boxes
Myriam García Fidalgo, cello and boxes
Pierre-André Valade, conductor
Premiered at the SZentrum Knappensaal, 18 September 2023, Schwaz, Austria.
Recorded by The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation.
Program notes
It is in the pursuit of a resilient catalyst spark,
one that will transcend the unsound cyclic nature of uncertainty,
that the afterlight reveals a retaliating barrenness adorned with thorns.
(responsorial)
Bottomless mudcracks penetrate the viscera of the imagined world.
Yet, in absence, life treads forwards, whispers rise as unwavering chants.
The beauty of the scorched land lies in the abundance of juxtaposed
impossibilities.
Still, the soul wanders amidst harsh epiphanies that unfold their coarse
truth.
Fate, for now, is adjourned.