Watch a video of the Moscow premiere (2021):
“Sunrise After” is a based on a dream I had of what Michelangelo could have felt on the day after finishing work on the Sistine Chapel — a chapel I got to see, for a few minutes, during my time as a violist in the Spoleto Italy festival in 1998. What could it have been, to finish such a transformative work of art, and then to move on? I tried to paint this moment in music, of the artist as a mortal and his immortal art. Of course, the piece also deals with the history of the bandoneon, its origins in German church music, its continuation in the Argentine brothels, and its presence in films and the concert stage. The musical materials are full of allusions to Bach-like polyphony (the note signature B-A-C-H appears at least once), tango-influenced bass lines, a sense of dialogue between devotion and maybe a triumph. |
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CATEGORY | chamber music |
INSTRUMENTATION | original instrumentation: tango sextet (2 bandoneons | 2 violins | piano | bass) & chamber orchestra (Flute, English Horn, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, bass)
also available in arrangements for: |
DURATION | 8 minutes |
WORLD PREMIERE | August 26 2009 Die Glocke, Bremen, Germany as part of Musikfest Bremen |
WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMERS | Carel Kraayenhof Tango Sextet Absolute Ensemble Kristjan Järvi, conductor |
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES | April 17 2021 in Moscow, Russia (Gnesin Academy) — Mikhail Bourlakov (bayan) and ensemble “Gnesin-Forum”
August 15 2015 in Bethlehem New Hampshire (Colonial Theatre) – Patrick Farrell (accordion) and the North Country Chamber Players
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RECORDING | see video above |
SCORE AVAILABILITY | All arrangements are available for sale via PDF or mail delivery; arrangements for combinations not listed above may be commissioned on request. [contact for more info] |