Instrumentation:
Flute in C, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Bassoon
Horn in F (off stage), Trumpet in C (off stage), Tenor Trombone (off stage)
Percussion (1 player): Suspended Cymbal, Tam-tam, Timpani (29 ”), Kick Drum, Curtain, 2 Tom-Tons, 3 Temple Blocks, Vibraphone (C2-C5), Small Percussion (Triangle, Seed Necklace, Brush)
Harp
Piano
Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Double Bass
Duration: a.c. 6:30 minutes
Year of composition: 2009 – 2010
Premiere: May 16, 2010, ENSEMS Festival, Talia Theater (Valencia)
Grup Instrumental de Valencia
Joan Cerveró (Director)
Commission: Grup Instrumental de Valencia on the occasion of the II Permanent Composition Seminar, under the tutelage of the composer José María Sánchez Verdú
Program notes:
This work is inspired by the reading of two texts: on the one hand the story of Platon‘s “Myth of the cave” and on the other, the “In Praise of the Shadow” by the Japanese Junichiro Tonizaki. In both texts a common element unites them: the Shadow.
The word “Numen” means “Presence.” In ancient times it referred to the divine presence in religious cults.
Starting from these premises, in the work the concept of shadow will have a main role, since it will determine from the materials to be used, the structure of the piece, the spatial arrangement of the ensemble on stage, as well as the association of different instrumental combinations throughout the work.
Divided into four sections, the piece runs in a continuous flow of materials that create various atmospheres and strata, in which the timbral work and the use of new instrumental techniques will cause the ensemble to be an organic entity in continuous evolution.
“Beauty loses its existence if the effects of shadows are suppressed”
(The Eulogy of the Shadow, 1933)
Junichiro Tanizaki (1896-1965)
