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Illuminations for Solo Cello


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George Crotty full profile / Solo cello / 1 musician


Full program notes

ILLUMINATIONS for solo cello (2014) by Erik Friedlander (b. 1960)

  1. Invocation - Seshat
  2. Prelude - Scriptorium
  3. Madrigal - Siddur
  4. Chant - Illuminations
  5. Cham - Hypnotique
  6. Tarantella - The Serpent
  7. Fantasia - Zodiac
  8. Chant - Kaddish
  9. Madrigal - The Virgin and The Unicorn
  10. Pavan - Hildegard

ILLUMINATIONS was originally commissioned by the Jewish Museum in New York City which hosted an exhibit of ancient books from Oxford University’s Bodleian Collection. The exhibit brought together ancient illuminated texts in Arabic, Latin and Hebrew.

Weaving inspirations from ancient book making with ritual dance movements and Renaissance vocal forms, the listener may sometimes feel they are hearing a lute or a gamba. Says Friedlander, “I’m always trying to tell a story with my playing and in ILLUMINATIONS it’s all about a world that’s lit by candles and has the smell of leather and parchment.”


Historical context

Friedlander has worked on the Bach suites throughout his life as a cellist and he used the suite form as a launching point for ILLUMINATIONS.

The suite begins with a meditative Invocation. The Prelude (subtitled Scriptorium) that follows is a furious moto perpetuo with an improvisatory pizzicato interlude. Instead of the French dances most often used in the Bach suites (Allemande, Courante, Bouree, and Gigue) Friedlander chose instead to compose using vocal forms, Chants and Madrigals as well as dances of his own choosing: Cham is a hypnotic, trance-like piece named for the mystical Tibetan dance; the Tarantella is a ⅞ dance of madness named for the infamous serpent who tempts Eve; a Fantasia is a free, improvisational meditation and Kaddish is a mourner’s prayer. The suite finishes with Pavan, a dedication to Hildegard von Bingen, the 12th century mystic and composer.


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