Bertrand: Sonata-Poème, Op. 11

Description

Commissioned by Renaud Capuçon, Sonata-Poème consists of three movements, the first two segueing seamlessly one into the other.

The second movement - Nocture - was my actuel starting point as wetl as a spiritual and musical immersion in the compositional process.

Then followed the Finale, Presto. Reminiscent of a scherzo, It also features a short trio section before reverting to the virtuosic and exuberant - even sarcastic - articulation that characterizes the movement.

The first movement - Aria - was the last one to be completed. Its two thematic motives complement each other, resulting in rather free sonata form that echoes the format and symbolic flexibility of the ''Poème".

The relationship between the poetics of the music and the form of the sonata is not without recalling Ernest Chasson's Poème and Charles Tournemire's Sonata-Poème. and the assumed influence of Karol Szymanowski, one of my favorite composers, can be heard into the lyric al character of the piece and my violin writing.

My taste for mystery translates into complex, unexpected harmonies and a subtle balance between light (the extreme high register of the violin) and darkness (the lower register of the piano).

Since I play both violin and piano (and compose on the latter), I had an immediate, litterally hands-on access to the instrumental realization of my mental prejection of the piece. Urging me to write something I would really enjoy playing myself, my 'instrumentalist self' was regularly involved in the compositional process, completing or shaping the musical discourse along the way.

The first element of a corpus combining violin and piano, the two instruments I play, Sonata-Poème reveals the most intimate side of my personality.

Elise Bertrand