1. Prologue: A Passacaglia based on Burchfield's 'signature' – the motive CEB. Austere and quiet.
2. Spring: Ballad, outgoing and exuberant.
3. Brookside Music: Interlude – quiet and babbling, mysterious.
4. Summer: Serenade, hot, humid, shimmering and pulsating.
5 Autumn: Scherzo – rhythmic, propulsive, fading at the end like the sound of rustling leaves.
6. Winter: Reverie – elegaic, sustained stillness.
7. The Four Seasons: Fantasy – a musical collage, reflecting Burchfield's paining containing all the elements, with its Gothic-like cathederal effect framing the sounds of storms, chorales and a final repeat of the Passacaglia.
Besetzung: Großes Orchester
Bemerkung: „The idea of commemorating the distinguished American artist, Charles E. Burchfield, was suggested to me by Lawrence A. Fleischman of the Kennedy Galleries in New York, resulting in a commission by the Burchfield Foundation for such a work. […] Burchfield’s "nature” paintings, celebrating the seasons, with their fantasy and movement are what attracted me musically. His work has been described as "visual music” – and he himself was sensitive to specific musical influences, and referred to them. Sibelius was a favorite, and the "Northwind” pervades much of Burchfield’s paintings. He has a deep spirited affinity with nature, and this religiosity is reflected in the brooding mystery of his landscapes. My musical celebration is intended to evoke what Burchfield’s paintings are about, with their vibrant lights and shadows, and constant motion and dancing rhythm’s.“ Quelle: https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/28277/Burchfield-Gallery--Morton-Gould.
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Monika Fink-Naumann
monika.fink@uibk.ac.at
Institut für Musikwissenschaft / Department of Musicology
Universität Innsbruck / University of Innsbruck
Haus der Musik
Universitätsstraße 1
A - 6020 Innsbruck