Canzone

CANZONE was composed as a commissioned work for the semi-finals of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium in 2008. This composition for voice and piano was written based on a poem by Francesco Petrarca. The sonnet expresses loneliness and abandonment. The poet describes the need to isolate himself in order to organise his inner thoughts and conflicts. The work was composed for different voice types, namely soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass. The virtuoso piano part has more than just an accompanying function; it provides psychological support for the singer. Piano and voice constantly comment on each other. The complex and differentiated rhythms give the work a free and sometimes almost improvisational character. The tonal material was created in a fairly intuitive way. Recurring chord structures and melodic fragments provide musical unity. The prosody of this Italian verse (length of syllables, tonal movements) was faithfully followed. Solo e pensoso i piu deserti campi vo mesurando a passi tardi e lenti, e gli occhi porto per fuggire intenti ove vestigio uman l’arena stampi. Altro schermo non trovo che mi scampi dal manifesto accorger de le genti, perché ne gli atti d’allegrezza spenti di fuor si legge com’io dentro avampi: si ch’io mi credo omai che monti e piagge e fiumi e selve sappian di che tempre sia la mia vita, ch’è celata altrui. Ma pur si aspre vie né si selvagge cercar non so ch’Amor non venga sempre ragionando con meco, et io co llui.