Music Resource Item Type Metadata
Composer
Mestral, Patrice (b. 1945).
Gender
Male
Work
Bloc V. Paris: Durand.
Duration
7 minutes
Description
This is a very severe avant-garde piece that was composed in 1982 and “dedicated in friendship” to Jean-Manuel de Scarano. The music requires numerous extended techniques, including flutter-tonguing, indeterminacy of both pitch and rhythm, improvisation, extensive multiphonics, shouting, singing while playing, tongue-slaps, timbre changes, vibrato manipulations, and glissandi. The music is atonal, and based loosely on a tone row. While traditional technical skill requirements are minimal, and the performer is given considerable latitude in the selection of pitch material (including the highest pitch), this is still a very challenging piece. Moreover, the high density of new, often harsh sounds makes this piece very difficult for the uninitiated to appreciate.
Date Range of Work
1982