Kyrie and Transformations
Karen P. Thomas
About this work:
"Kyrie and Transformations" for is based upon the second Kyrie of Le Messe do Nostre Dame by Guilluame de Machaut (1300-1377). The Kyrie itself forms the middle movement of the Metamorphoses. The four surrounding movements use motivic, structural, rhythmic and harmonic ideas from the Kyrie, transformed into a language which is unlike that of Machaut. For example, the first movement uses as its harmonic basis a skeletal form of the tenor voice from the Kyrie, and incorporates open fifths which evoke the sounds of early Medieval polyphony. The fourth movement includes retrograde statements of the two upper voices of the Kyrie, but with altered rhythms. The second and fifth movements use a more free compositional procedure and include actual quotations from the Kyrie.
Year composed: 1984
Duration: 00:12:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Violin, 1 Viola, 1 Cello, 1 Double bass
Instrumentation notes: vln, vla, vc, db