Carceri d’Invenzione von Brian Ferneyhough

The subject of this work is the seven-part cycle Carceri d'Invenzione by Brian Ferneyhough, completed in 1986. Detailed analyses present various facets of the compositional technique known as "New Complexity". For the first time, the complete existing sketches of the cycle have been comprehensively examined. In addition to a general overview, the analytical focus is therefore on the peculiarities of each piece.
In the opening piece Superscriptio for piccolo solo, a series of numbers determines certain parameters from the overall form of the piece to the arrangement of the bars and the rhythmic and melodic fine structure. An opposite path is taken with the final piece Mnemosyne for bass flute and additional band: From a small cell, a dense network of dependencies is successively spun, from the individual bar right up to the metrical-formal level. The middle pieces of the cycle are less consistent, but more individually constructed. Carceri d'Invenzione I for chamber orchestra is an ideal example of the creative use of the cycle's eight basic chords (or series of numbers); Carceri d'Invenzione II for solo flute and chamber orchestra, with its 48 modules and their partly modified repetition, is a prime example of how to deal with the material; finally, "trigger" attacks in the sense of an "irregular metronome" form the basis for Carceri d'Invenzione III for 15 wind instruments and percussion. In addition, the last of the nine Etudes Transcendentales offers an insight into the astonishing use of text.
The cycle was inspired by the etchings of the same name by the Italian Baroque architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who depicts various forms of imprisonment and liberation in all their dynamics. With a brief look at this and at the composer's statements, an attempt is made to describe what Ferneyhough's intention was with these compositions and how he succeeded in realizing them.

contents

free shipping within Germany