Kaena Point. for violin, viola, cello and piano. Nolan Stolz. Duration ca STUDY SCORE (performance score also available in 11 x17 size)

Transcription

1 Kaena Point or violin, viola, cello and iano Nolan Stolz Duration ca. 12. STUDY SCORE (erormance score also available in 11 x1 size) 2008 Stolen Notes

2 2 Kaena Point or violin, viola, cello and iano Nolan Stolz Duration ca. 12. Kaena Point was comleted in Hartord, CT in 2008, but the comositional rocess began in July 200 at Kaena Point on the the island o Oahu in Hawaii. Kaena Point is located on the northwesternmost oint on the island. Highways ollow the entire coastline excet or the several miles known as Kaena Point. One can aroach the area rom either the West Side o the island or the North Shore by trail. This secluded art o the highly oulated island o Oahu is unique in that one can view both shores, the West and the North, at once. It is oten very windy at Kaena Point. One morning, during a visit to Kaena Point, I was insired by the nature o the wind o the waves, and I set out to write a iano quartet to reresent those images. The iece oens with a sot iano attern; it is harmonically blurred because then dierent itches are heard. The attern is seventeen notes long itting into a single beat, which lasts aroximately one and one-thirds seconds. The violin enters with a trill-like igure reeating the notes B-lat, C-lat and D-lat ive times (totaling iteen notes) into a single beat. Next, the viola enters with the trill-like igure, but at a slower ace: the three-note igure is layed just our times within a beat (twelve notes), and also transosed down a erect ourth (F, G-lat and A-lat). Finally, the cello at even a slower ace (three-note igure is layed only three times within a beat (nine notes), and is transosed to D, E-lat and F. Although the entrances have a eeling o slowing down, the olyrhythm between the instruments (:12:1:1) become more comlex, and thereore the texture becomes denser uon each entrance. Harmonically, this section is very blurred; eleven o the twelve notes o the chromatic scale are heard (only A is missing). The comosite sound reresents the wind at Kaena Point. Ater introducing the note A and its minor third counterart C, the iano transoses the motive to D-lat/B-lat. The instruments dro out their trill-like igures, leaving only the violin s B-lat, C-lat, D-lat. The music begins to exlore these three notes in various aces in relation to the bass note B-lat. The violin already at iteen er beat, the cello enters with two er beat (quarter notes) as the iano is at six er beat. The iano increases to nine as the cello increases to three. The viola enters at our er beat and then increases to ive er beat; the ive-note attern becomes an imortant motive later in the iece. The violin returns at iteen er beat, with the cello, but with bow changes every three, so the eect is actually ive. With the absence o olyrhythm, the ive becomes so strong that

3 a true meter arises. The beat (hal note) is divided into ive ( tenth notes, a.k.a. eighth-note quintulets ), but a metric modulation occurs where the eighth-note quintulet becomes the eighth note o the new meter. The temo reviously at 44 BPM (beats er minute) has shited to BPM. Beore the BPM is elt, aster music is heard in the iano (4/4, 110 BPM). This iano igure returns throughout the iece. Its regular reoccurrences reresent the regularity o waves, in the sense that waves continuously reach the shoreline. The string trio enters with violent igures. The acing o the igures are varied, creating olyrhythmic activity. The quick changes in dynamics, technique, texture aired with the olyrhythms, the music is modernist in style, and is reminiscent o the new comlexity school o comosition. The music is ugal, and so the material is limited, reeated and rotated throughout the voices. Although the viola reeats the violin s subject, it is a alse ugue answer. The answer does not aear, actually, until m. 8 on the and o in the viola. The osetting o the material causes tulets over the beat and barline which causes another dimension to the music. This sound reresents the crashing o the wave. The wind music returns briely at m. 80 in 6::1 olyrhythm. This time, however, the viola contines, and the music exlores the relationshi o its three notes (F, G-lat and A-lat) to the bass note B-lat. The wave returns at E and crashes, but this time with much simler olyrhythmic activity. :4 is heard irst, and then ive moti rom earlier interruts the last o the 4 grou, creating a measure o /8. The violin answers the ive moti in elision, and the viola and iano enter in elision. This creates /10 o a comlete measure. Rather than using the modern notation o irrational time signature o /10, I used the traditional notation o /8 but with a brie metric modulation ( eighth note quintulet becomes the eighth-note), which immediately returns to BPM. :4: olymeter is heard, with instruments rotating the rhythms. The dynamics aid in bringing out the riority o the lines. The wave inishes its crash, and the wind music returns in :6: olyrhythm, but this time, the music exlores the cello s notes (D, E-lat and F) in and the B-lat bass note. This our note grou has a strong tonal tendencies, or it contains the root, third, and ith o a B-lat triad. The ourth, in common ractice harmony, also has its tendencies. Rather than exloring their relationshi to one another, as common ractice harmony has done or so many years, this section exlores the harmonic sectrum o these itches, using techniques commonly associated with the sectral school o comosition. Pitches, timbre, rhythm and dynamics in this section are related to the harmonic sectrum. For examle, the cello is asked to lay its A-lat one-sixth o a tone lower, which is the tuning o the seventh harmonic in the series. Other out o tune harmonics, such as the eleventh and the thirteenth are a quarter-tone lat, are heard. Many o the uer harmonics are heard in the iano, in a soter dynamic, and obviously in temered tuning. The undamentals are

4 4 heard in the iano, and orte. The reetitive nature o these igures is reminiscent o the minimalist school o comosition, so the section is both sectral and minimalist in aroach. The wind does not return at rehearsal G ; the iano s wave moti is heard ollowed by the crashing o a wave, again as :4: olyrhythm, but this time with the iano doubling one o the rhythms. Ater six measures, the olyrhythm accelerates to 4::6. Ater six measures, the olyrhythms are slit [e.g. in the irst beat o m. 11, the viola has the irst three o the 6 rhythm. In the second beat, the rd and 4 th notes o the 4 rhythm are heard. The third beat begins with the irst two o the 4 rhythm, but is interruted by the rd, 4 th and th notes o the rhythm). The meter is notated in 4/4 (instead o 2/2 like it was earlier or the similar music) because the slitting o the olyrhythms. Rehearsal H exlores the sound o the wave moti. It stretches the three-measure moti to orty-three measures. Like in electronic music comosition when one uses granular synthesis or time stretching without the loss o quality or lower itch. It slowly moves through the samle (the wave moti) exloring its characteristics. It also exlores the bass notes harmonic sectra, exlaining the microtonal notes in the strings. At rehearsal I, the wave moti is reeated (at normal seed), and the wave crashes into a :6: olyrhythm. It accelerates to 6::8, to :8: and to 8::10. It morhs into the wind music in a ::12:1.6 olyrhythm (the 1.6 is notated as 1:20). A metric modulation occurs, returning to the original temo o 44 BPM. The 12 becomes 1 and the 1.6 (1:20) becomes 1, so the ace o the violin and iano sound exactly the same. The ratios o change in the viola and cello are inexact and aroximated [i.e. the viola s slightly seeds u to 12, and the cello s slightly seeds u to ]. The same metric modulation heard just beore rehearsal C returns, and the temo is again at BPM. At L, the wave moti returns, this time with the strings accenting the chords. The wave crashes in its most violent state yet, this time with iano added to the texture. The energy quickly calms, the texture thins, and the wave comes to a rest. Nolan Stolz May 2008 String arts and erormance score or the ianist are available rom the ublisher.

5 Duration ca. 12.' Violin Slow h = 44 Kaena Point Nolan Stolz Viola Violoncello Piano Slow h = sim. until measure 41 una corda until measure sim. lautando sul ont m lautando sul ont. sul ont Coyright 2008 Stolen Notes

6 6 () (sul ont.) m sul ont lautando sul ont. () () 8 () m (lautando) sul ont. semre (lautando) sul ont. semre (sul ont.) (lautando) sul ont. semre A (sul ont.) i a rest is needed, omit the "cue" sized notes (sul ont.) A 1 () tre corde una corda 1

7 11 () () () 1 1 () 1 1 m () m non cresc () tre corde una corda sim. 14 i a rest is needed, omit the "cue" sized notes tre corde una corda 1 1 1

8 8 1 () () () 1 1 non cresc i a rest is needed, omit the "cue" sized notes non cresc. m () m tre corde (tre corde) sim. 20 i a rest is needed, omit the "cue" sized notes () i a rest is needed, omit the "cue" sized notes

9 22 () () () () sim. 2 () (sul ont.) (sul ont.) () m m (sul ont.) ()

10 10 26 (m) (m) m i a rest is needed, omit the "cue" sized notes () (m) () () (m) () (m)

11 1 () () () sul ont. B B sul ont. (normal bow ressure) (sul ont.) () 1 1 m sul ont () (edal is still deressed) () 11 lautando lautando semre (sul ont.) 1 1 m cresc. (m)

12 12 8 () m (iù ) ( ) 41 m m m m ()

13 44 (m) (m) () Temo II e= e h=, q=110, e= sim. () Temo II e= e h=, q=110, e= sim. 1 C 4 C ()

14 m 6 m izz. 6 izz. izz. m m m. sul ont. 1/4 tone 6 lautando m m m 6 m (III-0,IV) m lautando lautando m col legno col legno 1 1 m :q izz. izz. m :e m :h 1/4 tone :q m :q :e :q sul ont. :q

15 6 () 1/4 tone m lautando 1/6 lower than Gb () () 6 m 6 m lautando m m (III-0,IV) m col legno :h col legno lautando 1:h (IV) 1:h 1 6 :e :q m :q izz. :e m :q :q :q m :h sul ont. 1/4 tone 6 6 m m lautando lautando lautando m (III,IV) m col legno :h col legno :h col legno

16 16 () 1 () 6 6 1:h () 1:h :q m :h until measure D dim. dim. 1 1 () (m) (m) dim. () () (m) (m) () 1 () (m) (m) () D 6 m (m) una corda tre corde m (

17 0 6 6 m m lautando (m) m 6 lautando lautando () () () () () 1 () m ) m m m sz 100 () m (m) m m (m) izz. m m (resonant) l.h. inside iano muting strings until rehearsal "E" (lit let hand)

18 18 E 111 izz. izz. () E izz. e=2 h=, e= izz. m ()non dim. izz. m m m non dim. sim. izz. izz. m m m (Temo II) e= e e= e (h=, e=220) e=2 h=, e=220 () l.h. inside iano muting strings * i the rame design does not allow to mute this articular range, dislace the unreachable notes u or down an octave (Temo II) e= e (h=, e=220) e= e l.h. inside iano muting strings

19 11 m m (m) m m () m sim. m m m m m non dim. m m m m m m () m 1 () (lit let hand) mute with let hand 140 () () m () () (m) m (lit let hand) m m mute with let hand () m (lit let hand)

20 20 14 F () () 6 F () () () () m m m m m III 1 1/4 tone (m) 1/4 tone 1/4 tone 1/6 tone lower than Db (m) 1/4 tone 1/4 tone (II,III) 1/6 tone lower than Ab (m) 1/4 tone(i,ii) 1/6 tone lower than Ab 1/4 tone m m m m m m m m

21 16 1/4 tone (m) (m) /4 tone (m) m m m m m (m) () G G ()

22 22 18 () m m sub. sub. m m () m sub. m m m m m izz. m m m m m (m) m izz. (m) sub. m m 186 m m m () m m () ()

23 2 12 () H () () () H m until rehearsal "K" 1 izz. 1/6 tone lower than Eb (IV) 1/4 tone () () 1/4 tone (IV) 1/4 tone 1/6 tone lower than Eb izz. 1/6 tone lower than Eb m m m m m m

24 24 20 izz. s.. m sul ont. () (not harm.) () 220 izz. izz. izz. IV II mute with let hand

25 20 m m (III-0,IV) m III izz. izz. II (m) m III izz. II izz. izz. jété jété jété izz. 2 m m I 240 I m () 6 ()

26 () () () m () m m m :h 6 () 22 m 6 m 6 :h () 6 m 6 :h m :h () () m :h m m :h ()

27 28 () m () 10 m m m m m m m 2 10 m 10 m m m 264 m m J J h=44 (1:20=1, so igure sounds exactly the same) 1 1 Temo I h+e= h h=44 (12=1, so igure sounds exactly the same) m 1:20 (h+e) (m) (.6=12, so igure is slightly aster) m () (.2=, so igure is slightly aster) Temo I h+e= h 1:20 (h+e) until measure 28 una corda sim. 1 1 sim.

28 28 sul ont. 268 () sul ont. () () sul ont. () () () () tre corde 1 1 una corda sul ont. normal bow ressure 21 sul ont. sul ont normal bow ressure lautando (sul ont.) lautando (sul ont.) normal bow ressure lautando (sul ont.) tre corde una corda sim. 1

29 24 () () () (lautando) m (lautando) m (lautando) m dim. (m) () tre corde 2 () :q (tre corde) 1:h 1 1 1:q 6:q 6:q 10 1 m dim. (m) m una corda K h=, e=220 K Temo II e= e 1 () sim. () tre corde Temo II e= e h=, e=

30 0 L 28 () () () () L m (IV) sz

31 2 () m () () lautando m 6 (III-0,IV) m m lautando m lautando 6 m m m 1 1 (IV) 1 00 m sul ont. 1/4 tone m 6 lautando m 6 m m (III-0,IV) lautando m izz. m 1 lautando

32 2 0 () () 1 (IV) () m m sul ont. 1/4 tone m 6 m m lautando 6 lautando m lautando m (III,IV) m izz. () 0 lautando izz. m, lautando izz. izz. m () (m) m, lautando m () izz. 1/6 lower than F 1/4 tone m hold as neccessary