Wolfgang Rihm
1. Abgesangsszene
Short instrumentation: 2 2 2 2 - 4 2 2 1 - timp, str(14 12 10 8 6)
Duration: 9'
Instrumentation details:
1st flute
2nd flute (+picc)
1st oboe
2nd oboe (+c.a)
clarinet in Bb
bass clarinet in Bb
bassoon
contrabassoon
1st horn in F
2nd horn in F
3rd horn in F
4th horn in F
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
1st trombone
2nd trombone
tuba
timpani
violin I(14)
violin II(12)
viola(10)
violoncello(8)
contrabass(6)
Rihm - 1. Abgesangsszene for orchestra
Translation, reprints and more
Wolfgang Rihm
Rihm: 1. Abgesangsszene for orchestraOrchestration: for orchestra
Type: Partitur
Audio preview
Work introduction
After initially composing the piece for the Spohr Festival in Kassel in 1979, Rihm carried on that same year to make a cycle of five Abgesangszenen [“farewell scenes”], the last of which he completed in 1981. The first of them is sombre, ominous music, quite slow, its dynamics restrained – almost seven minutes pass before a fortissimo outbreak. Initially, fragments of a melody pass among several instrumental groups; then the melody emerges in its entirety and the music gains momentum, although its sombre atmosphere remains throughout.
Translation © 2012 by Grant Chorley