Solo and Chamber Music

“I wrote Bandersnatch for cello and pianola (player piano) in 2010 at the behest of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. The title is derived from the poem ‘Jabberwocky’ (1872) by Lewis Carroll. Here are the first two stanzas:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

The use of cello and pianola deserves some explanation. In the fall of 2007 I was working on the completion of Les Noces (1919) by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), using the original instrumentation of the accompanying ensemble, consisting of 2 cimbaloms, harmonium, percussion and pianola. The first performances of that version too place in the summer of 2009 during the Amsterdam Grachtenfestival, with Capella Amsterdam and an ad hoc ensemble led by Peppie Wiersma.

The pianola added its own dimension to the way the ensemble played. Because it was completely inflexible with regard to tempi, it turned out to be quite useful  as the ‘motor’ of the music-making. That was something that called for a follow-up.

The piece (Bandersnatch) is characterized by separate roles for the cello and pianola. The cello’s share is ‘lyrical’ in tone. Opposite that is the mechanical motion of the pianola part. The basic structure is formed by three different harmonic patterns, used in a globally mirrored musical palindrome form (ABCBA).”

– Theo Verbey

“Sestetto was written in 1998 to celebrate of the 15th anniversary of the Almelo Chamber Music Foundation. The 6 instruments of the piece (to which the title refers) are flute, harp, 2 violins, viola and violoncello. Part 1. Andante, is characterized by slow, continuous movement in the harp, which is continually placed in a different light by the string quartet. The flute, which is treated like a soloist throughout the work, always brings variations to the same musical phrase. Part 2. Tempo di tango, is based on the principle of classical sonata form and also refers to the Argentinean tango. Part 3. Adagio, has the characteristics of a passacagliaone, one of the freest forms in the Baroque, in which a continuous bass line in the harp forms the foundation. Part 4. Allegro, is a repetitive fast movement with a strinkingly North American character.”

– Theo Verbey