
" Move 03 (2016) "
Pour grand orchestre
Editions Bärenreiter
- Nominated for : The Musical Composition Prize 2021
As the title implies, Move 03 is part of a series of pieces inspired by the idea of movement. Despite being metaphorical, this notion takes on special resonance in the work of Miroslav Srnka, already evoked in the Engrams quartet (2011) with its reference to the fluid structure of flocks of starlings on the move.
In Move 03, the feeling of motion is again related to the profuse, but perfectly coordinated interaction of many fluxes. Through their recurrence, despite their transformations and recombinations, certain salient elements impose a sort of ‘scavenger hunt’ on the listeners’ memory.
Miroslav Srnka is inclined to develop harmonic fields he brings in as an interference as if he were mixing colours. Though one might perceive furtive impressions of diatony, chromatics, pentatony and the superposition of fourths, here and there, these tints are in fact never pure, but intentionally disturbed by foreign bodies. In fact, one of this piece’s most remarkable characteristics is its harmonic sfumato. The textures are characterised mainly by the multiplicity of polyrhythmic strata, some associated with a diagonal progression of voices that grant a sideways movement to the harmonic sequences, while blocks of chords, sculpted and shaped, are caught up in their envelope.
The grand orchestra, with the woodwinds and brass by threes or fours, plus six horns bearing their own material, is thus provided with forms of playing that promote granulosity — one of the most original being the use of electric milk emulsifiers, along with the piano, marimba, vibraphone and steel drums — and fibrosity imputable mainly to extreme division of the strings and, more generally, the damping of attacks.
The great ductility of this amalgamated sound also results from the many changes in the beat, which impact on the harmonic content. This achieves a remarkable quality of Srnka’s music: by bringing together, in complex correlation, elements that are, if not simple, at least identifiable, the composer creates perceptible complexity that, far from saturating and thereby neutralising the listening experience, stimulates it.
Pierre Rigaudière (Trad.)