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- Piers Hellawell
Piani, Latebre
- Peters Edition Limited (World)
This work was commissioned by Landmark Chambers, London for pianist William Howard, a long-term collaborator of the composer. It was premiered at the Spitalfields Festival in 2010. Three substantial works (total duration 14’) are preceded by a short introduction, in which three pianistic ‘tropes’ are outlined – a 2-part ground, a tremolo and a scalic run. Each main piece then makes use of two out of these three. The work is recorded by the same artist on the 2020 Delphian CD ‘Up By The Roots’ (DCD 34223). The title means ‘Layers, Hiding Places’.
Programme Note
This work was commissioned by William Howard with funds provided by Landmark Chambers for premiere at the 2010 Spitalfields Festival in London.
Piani, Latebre (layers, hiding-places) is a set of three diverse pieces for solo piano. Their order is chosen by the pianist; they are preceded by an introductory flourish presenting a tiny preview of their core material. The title began as a feeble pun on ‘piano’ the instrument (pianoforte) and the Italian word piano, denoting layers or storeys, since the piano focuses upon ‘stacked’ or layered textures; to this was then added latebra, hiding-place, for this music is not just concerned with voicing of simultaneous layers but with the search for hidden corners - expressive places - lurking in the familiar sound-world of the piano.
The work is built upon three archetypal materials of the piano keyboard, such as the tremolo (rapid alternation of two notes or chords) and the scalic flourish up or down the keyboard; each piece combines two of these three building materials, so that they resurface in different pieces. My pianistic concern throughout is with the relative weight, or ‘voicing’, of different elements in the texture. The three pieces have clearly distinguished characters, and rely much on the expressive resource offered by the piano’s different registers. Their differences of character offer alternative dramatic sequences depending on the ordering; this dramatic freedom in running order is, as in other of my works, left to the performer. The work is dedicated to Neil and Matilda King.
Piers Hellawell 2010