Last winter/spring (March 2014) I created this little piece based on a challenge from Facebook. The idea was to occupy Facebook with art, breaking the monotony of photos of lunches and selfies. Whoever would like or comment on the post would then be given an artist to share via Facebook. I was given Albrecht Dürer by Matthew Peterson.
I chose three of Dürer’s paintings, “A Self Portrait,” “View of Arco” and “Winged Man In Idealistic Clothing Playing a Lute.”
The latter two paintings I used as inspiration for this piece found on SoundCloud:
and via Youtube: http://youtu.be/ss_MIJmsG9M
About the Music:
Albrecht Dürer travelled extensively during his lifetime. One of Dürer’s earliest documented excursions was to the Italian city of Venice. In late spring of 1495, his return trip home to Nuremberg, via the Brenner Pass to Innsbruck, brought him to Lake Garda and the small town of Arco with its mountainside fortress overlooking the countryside. The landscape, no doubt, stirred Dürer’s imagination resulting in a resplendent watercolor painting known as the “View of Arco.”
“A.D.”, a piece for guitar and recorder, was inspired by a few different aspects of the life and work of Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). First, the title is derived from his initials,”A.D.”. Secondly, the pitch class was governed by the tones found in Dürer’s name, [A, B, C, D, E]. In order to provide a simple harmonic framework, I used only [A, C, D, E] in the guitar. Conversely, all five pitches are used in the melodic material of the recorder. In order to determine the length of the piece, I made several calculations which were derived from various numerical elements of Dürer’s life. I chose his age at the time of death. The composition is made up of fifty six measures. I then began to peruse his works for paintings to inspire the mood and character of the music. “View of Arco” jumped out at me with its detailed colors and beautiful landscape. Based on the story behind the painting, traveling music in a Renaissance style became the chosen setting. Finally, I based the instrumentation on Dürer’s wife, who was an amateur harpist. However, as I researched Dürer’s paintings, I came across, “Winged Man In Idealistic Clothing, Playing a Lute”. Desiring a plucked string sound and accessibility, I chose the guitar. The recorder, used as the principal melodic instrument, compliments the work’s Renaissance charm.