Náraon, the Angel in the Yellow Garden
seven views of a smile
op. 64, 2015/16
I. luminous
II. please, stay with us
III. an old dance
IV. a song from far away
V. transformation
VI. remembrance
VII. breeze
For viola solo
Duration: 6 min.
Commissioned by Elisabeth Schlichtig for Hariolf Schlichtig
Composer’s notes
Náraon for viola solo is the fourth piece in a composition series for varying ensembles dedicated to angels. These angels, created by painters and sculptors who are close friends, inspired me to embark on this series, to give the angels sounds and portray them as musically alive.
The sculpture that inspired the sound-angel Náraon is an artwork from the series „shooting clouds“ by Alexander Polzin. The music is not attempting to interpret the sculpture. Instead the music stands very near to the “sounds” of the artwork and forms a new connection with it. Each of the sound angels will receive a name that does not yet stand for anything already in existence.
All seven movements of Náraon are minimalistic and can be understood as short comments on experienced events. Although the movements are very short they do form a coherent unit. The compositional material is drawn from melodic and noise-like structures.