A song for peace
op. 70, 2017
I. neighborhood
II. synapses
III. peace
Duo for violin and cello
Duration: 6 min.
World premiere: 23 July 2017, Vielklang Festival Tübingen, Germany. Aditya Duo: violin: Ava-Rebekah Rahman, cello: Matthias Diener
Composer’s notes
A song for peace was written for Musicians4UnitedEurope, following a request by cellist Alban Gerhard. The short piece is a musical analogy to my preferred way of communication between people.
During the first short part neighborhood the cello presents his opinion on a topic and the violin answers with a variation of the theme in a soft tone. Each one is listening to the other one and answers it in his own words. The second short part, synapses, begins with a dialogue, during which the two players approach each other while playing the same theme alternately, and finally together. It is a musical agreement, which provides a sonic identity for each of the players. During the third, even shorter part peace, the players disengage themselves from one or the other opinion, and perform a kind of musical meditation – intense but relaxed. Now, the duo performs as if they were one single musician playing in peace, with respect and in balance.
A song for peace can be performed as an encore or in a programme between two longer pieces.
A Song for peace. Internationales Haus Villa Concordia on 8 Mach 2018
Violin: Barbara Wittenberg, Violoncello: Ulrich Witteler