Informationen zu "David Heyes Finnish Sketches Double Bass Solo"
Verlag: Recital Music
Verlagsnummer: RM922
EAN: 9790570459223
ISMN: M-57045-922-3
Beschreibung
Your music was masterfully played by Elsen Price last night! Bravo to you
David. You must be good friends with God to have written such inspiring and
graphic descriptions of 'the spirit ' in music. Please give him/her my best!
With kudos and blessings to you and Sarah.' [Barry Green] Finnish Sketches
is a series of eight works for unaccompanied double bass, each lasting around
a minute in length, and composed for Teppo-Fest 2016 to celebrate the 75th
birthday of the Finnish bassist-composer Teppo Hauta-aho. The theme for each
piece is taken from the Kalevala, a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled
by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. The
musical style is modern but tonal and accessible, employing a range of
playing styles and effects to create a mini tone-poem for unaccompanied
double bass. 1. Lintukoto (Home of the Birds) - dedicated to Teppo Hauta-aho
In Finnish folk legend Lintukoto is a mythical place where migratory birds
were believed to live in winter time and the word is used as a metaphor for a
happy place in Finnish. It is said to be far to the south, towards the
world's edge or located near the edge of the sky dome. This piece, dedicated
with love and admiration to my great friend Teppo Hauta-aho for his 75th
birthday, lasts a little over one minute and is scored for unaccompanied
double bass. A recurring rising four note theme, followed by an answering
phrase which ebbs and flows, dominate the music and a feeling of open spaces,
and a timeless quality, aim to describe the 'home of the birds'. The music is
simple and descriptive, employing a range of colours to portray the flight of
the birds, but anchored to the earth with a number of open string drones,
played arco initially and then pizzicato towards the end. The music gradually
fades away as the birds fly towards Lintukoto. Lintukoto was premiered by the
composer on Wednesday 20 May 2015 at the Bristol Bass Club (Bristol, UK)
'Very nice piece I played it few minutes ago and tried to call you Thanks !'
(Teppo Hauta-aho) / 'Lintukoto has a simple yet restless beauty to it (so
hard to achieve, in my view). It 'feels' very Scandinavian, at least, an
inkling of Nielsen's music ? nothing specific ? came to mind when I was going
through it. It is a complete and impressive miniature and I can see why it is
your favourite.' John Alexander / '...delightfully atmospheric, almost
whimsical Lintukoto. I love the way the music rises from the depths and seems
to take flight...' [Christopher Field] / 'It's super' Sadie Harrison] / ' I
played it yesterday...Whoever hears this piece loves it.' P?nar Baltac?gil
2. Luonnotar (Nature-Spirit) - dedicated to Alexander Heather Luonnotar is a
character from Finnish mythololgy and is the Spirit of Nature and Mother of
the Seas. This short piece describes the mythical birth of the earth and sky
with short episodes of calm and reflection contrasting a more dramatic and
explosive outburst before the calm returns and the piece gently fades away
into the mists of time. Luonnotar was premiered on Sunday 28 June 2015 at
Wells Cathedral School by Alexander Heather. 'I found Luonnotar expressively
atmospheric and, again, there's something Scandinavian about it: an open
freedom, coolly fresh, texturally interesting. I look forward to hearing the
range of fascinating effects sprinkled through this piece...' (John
Alexander) 3. Tapio (God of the Forest) - dedicated to Peter McLoughlin
Tapio is the third in a series of one-minute works for unaccompanied double
bass, each inspired by Finnish mythology or legend, and Tapio is an Finnish
forest spirit or god, who figures prominently in the Kalevala. Hunters prayed
to him before a hunt and his wife Mielikki, is the goddess of the forest.
Tapio aims to create the sounds and moods of a Finnish forest, expressing the
calm serenity alongside the grandeur and power of nature. The gentle rustling
of the trees is depicted by the rippling semiquavers and the contrasts of
mood and texture create an evocative and imaginative mythological scene.
Tapio was premiered at the Bristol Bass Club (Bristol, UK) on Wednesday 24
June 2015 by Peter McLoughlin. 'I like the variations in the germ of the
idea(s) in Tapio and the pulling about of the tempi, allowing the piece to
seemingly both flow and haltingly question in an almost contradictory manner
that tellingly holds the attention....' (John Alexander) 4. Jumala (God of
the Sky) - dedicated to Thea Sayer The name Jumala [pronounced: Yoo-mah-lah]
is thought to have been the name of a sky god of the ancient Finnic-speaking
peoples and also means 'thunder home' or 'Supreme God of the Heavens'. Simple
and lyrical harmonics in the higher range of the double bass contrast with
music of a more dramatic nature. A three-note rhythmic figure acts as a
unifying motif throughout and the music aims to express the moods and
character of this important God in Finnish and Norse mythology. Harmonics,
whether played in the high register or as false harmonics in the lower, link
passages of a more sonorous and cantabile nature, before the music slowly
falls away ending with a perfect cadence on a simple octave D, Although its
rhapsodic nature has a feeling of freedom and movement, Jumala remains within
its fairly regular tempo from beginning to end. Jumala was premiered on 19
February 2016 by Marco Antonio Quiñones Martinez in Mexico City 'Jumala is a
strong little piece and I very much enjoyed the repetition of small phrases
along with their variations...' (John Alexander) 5. Nyyrikki (God of the
Hunt) - dedicated to Pinar P?nar Baltac?gil Built around a three note motif
(A-E-G) and in three sections - before, during and after the hunt - the short
introduction employs a simple arco phrase with a left-hand pizz. A acting as
a drone. In the lower register, the introduction has an air of expectancy
before this is shattered with the hunt. depicted by a fast and furious
semiquaver (sixteenth note) figure across the solo register of the double
bass. The music builds to a climax with loud and energetic double stops, the
music eventually falling to a sudden and unexpected end with the ringing of
an open A string fading into the distance. The final section recalls the
introduction and a simple theme with a pizzicato drone, ending on the 'tonic'
played as a harmonic and the pizzicato drone dying away into the distance.
Nyyrikki was premiered on Wednesday 15 July 2015 at Bristol Bass Club
(Bristol, UK) by David Heyes 6. Väinämöinen (God-Hero) - dedicated to Max
van der Linden Väinämöinen (Finnish pronunciation: ?æinæ?m?inen) is a
god-hero and a central character in Finnish folklore and the main character
in the national epic Kalevala. His name comes from the Finnish word väinä,
meaning stream or pool, and he was described as a wise, old man, possessing a
potent and magical voice. He has also been described as the god of chants,
songs and poetry, and this short piece portrays the lyrical and magical
nature of this important figure in Finnish mythology. Rhapsodic and free, a
quintuplet rhythm acts to unify the sections, interspersed with brief sul
ponticello or pizzicato figures, ending slowly and mysteriously and an
unresolved 'dominant' chord hangs in the air. Väinämöinen was premiered on
Sunday 22 November 2015 at Templecombe Village Hall (Somerset) by David Heyes
7. Aarnivalkea (Eternal Flame) - dedicated to Richard Dunn In Finnish
mythology the Aarnivalkea are places where an eternal flame associated with
will o' the wisps burns. They are claimed to mark the spots where gold is
buried and are protected by a force that would prevent anyone discovering
them by chance. The spiritual and evocative significance of the eternal flame
is expressed in a series of short fragments in the lower register, often with
the interval of a minor 2nd prevalent. These are interspersed with faster
music which evokes the will o' the wisp, played arco, with fleeting lightness
and movement to contrast the slower and solemn music which ends the piece.
Sul ponticello is used three times, creating a new soundworld and effect,
ending slowly and quietly as the eternal flame continues to hide its secrets.
Aarnivalkea was premiered on Sunday 6 September 2015 at Templecombe Village
Hall (Somerset) by Richard Dunn 8. Ahto (God of the Sea) - dedicated to
Chris Clark 'Ahti, king of all the waters, Ruler of a thousand grottoes' -
Kalevala Runo 43 'The Sampo Lost In The Sea' (Crawford 1888) 'Ahti, king of
all the waters, Ancient king with beard of sea-grass' - Kalevala Runo 41
'Wainamoinen's Harp-Songs' (Crawford 1888) Ahti is the main god of the water
and of the depths, and lives at the bottom of the sea at his palace Ahtola.
He is known as God of Depths, God of the Waters, Giver of Fish, is a male god
and owns the Sampo after Louhi pulled it into the sea during her struggle
with the heroes. Ahti lasts a little over one minute and the music reflects
both the calm and serenity of the ocean depths alongside the turbulence and
violence of a major storm or squall. It should be played without measure,
free and rhapsodic, contrasting lyrical episodes where the double bass can
sing with music of greater power and energy. Ahti was premiered on Wednesday
20 April 2016 by David Heyes at Bristol Bass Club (Bristol, UK) The
Australian premiere of Finnish Sketches was by Elsen Price on Saturday 18
March 2017 at St Philip Neri, Northbridge (Sydney). David Heyes studied
double bass with Laurence Gray and Bronwen Naish and later at the Royal
College of Music in London. He completed his post-graduate studies in Prague
with Frantisek Posta (Principal Double Bass, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra).
He has given recitals and masterclasses in 13 countries over the past few
years and has been a juror at a number of international competitions, twice
as chairman. David has been Specialist Double Bass Tutor at Wells Cathedral
School for 19 years and received a prestigious award from the David Walter
Charitable Trust of New York for his pioneering activities as a soloist,
teacher, publisher and commissioner of new music for double bass. He works
with composers throughout the world and is particularly interested to expand
the double bass repertoire, by commissioning new works and by rediscovering
forgotten ones. Over the past 30 years he has commissioned more than 500
works, from beginner to virtuoso, and from one to twenty basses. David has
transcribed more than 200 works for double bass, many published by Recital
Music, and in recent year has also composed a number of original works for
double bass which have been performed in Britain, America, Venezuela, Turkey,
Spain, Mexico, Germany and Czech Republic. David is self-taught as a composer
and his music has been described as lyrical, evocative and accessible, but
certainly of the 21st-century.
