Musique électroacoustique latino-américaine

Ezequiel Viñao, “La Noche de las Noches” seven Zenga, 1987-1989
(Argentine)



Instruments : Pour quatuor à cordes et électroniques
Remarques : Speculum Musicae. Dirigée par Don Palma; Ben Hudson et Carol Zeavin, violons; Maureen Gallagher, alto; Eric Bartlett, violoncelle; Ken Bookstein et Ezequiel Viñao, électroniques.

Autres ressources disponibles :
- À propos de Ezequiel Viñao
- Compositions par Ezequiel Viñao

7 mouvements :
- I (1 min 18 s)
- II (1 min 45 s)
- III (2 min 24 s)
- IV (1 min 47 s)
- V (2 min 03 s)
- VI (5 min 47 s)
- VII (2 min 58 s)

À propos de cette composition :

[Traduction française non disponible]
According to the book of the Thousand and One Nights, Gabriel was sent down from Heaven with
the Preserved Tablet for the revelation of the Apostle. This became known as the Night of Power or Night of Nights.

“La Noche de las Noches” (1987-89) seven zenga for string quartet and electronics was
premiered by Speculum Musicae in New York City on 13 November, 1990. Zenga is a Japanese word for water inks where figures are reduced to a minimal outline. Performed in one stroke, they are to convey the fusion of intellect and intuition.
Each one of these seven pieces originates from a sound-object that unfolds into a mood or vision. The basic musical material is the same for all zenga although reinterpreted from a different perspective.

The first one is a short prelude or introduction. The second is a study in two-voice punctum contra punctum (note against note.) Number three is the first complete unfolding of the harmonic field that dominates the piece and of its corresponding rhythmic structure, in this case a North Indian rhythmic cycle or tala. The next zenga presents the only remaining element to be introduced: a collection of rhythms borrowed from ancient Aristoxenian meters. They appear in a five-voice polyphony where the first violin plays the cantus firmus and the viola a counterpoint. The electronics come in half way through with a two voice canonic complement and finally the second violin introduces the last thematic voice. In the fifth movement, Greek meters (bells) and North Indian rhythmic cycles (drums, strings pizz.) coexist in a two-part form. Number six, the longest zenga, is a six-voice passacaglia-like structure where an illusion of movement is created by means of “oblique” polyphony. Each individual voice circles around a motive that remains specific for that instrument.
What varies then, is the vertical relationship between the voices as well as the dynamic inflexions.

The last number is a simple melodic unfolding of the pervading harmonic field.

Table des matières :