Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
General Info
Year: 1968
Duration: c. 5:15
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Silent Editions; Manuscript
Cost: Score and Parts - $10.00 | Score Only - $0.00
Movements
Instrumentation
Multiple Percussion
Clarinet/Violin
Cello
Program Notes
Vienne la nuit is inspired by the poem Le Pont Mirabeau, by Guillaume Apollinaire (Alcools, 1912). This famous poem has a refrain which goes:
Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure, Les jours s'en vont je demeure.
May night come, the hour ring, the days are passing by, I remain.
To represent the constancy of the lyrical "I," the piece uses the slow unfolding of a single (constant) 12-tone set whose elements never change their octave position. (They are fixed in registral space.) Thus the piece is based on 12, and only 12, tones. This is achieved by ‘micro-counterpoint’ that heavily draws upon a multitude of rhythmic variations of the same pitch set and registral range. Through this compositional technique, the music strives to rival the purity and simplicity of Apollinaire's poem.
In its technique, the composition is indebted to Konrad Lechner, the German composer who taught me micro-counterpoint -- the careful rhythmic elaboration of single tones.
Vienne la nuit was written for the cellist Jay Humeston, at New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, where it was premiered in 1968.[1]
Errata
Awards
Commercial Discography
Recent Performances
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Works for Percussion by this Composer
Piece for Organ and Percussion - Multiple Percussion; Organ
Screening - Multiple Percussion; Flute
Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure - Multiple Percussion; Clarinet,(Violin); Cello
Additional Resources
References