Metonìmie (2015) is a piece for solo violin composed by Paolo Geminiani. It embodies the composer’s desire to “rewrite” the well-known Andante of the Violin Sonata No. 2, BWV 1003, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, by combining short fragments of the original piece with newly composed, more rarefied ones, suffused with sounds and patterns typical of contemporary music. The piece, therefore, results in a complex network of connections, a “substitution of terms” – or metonymies – for the traditional musical phrase. This goal is achieved by structurally reinterpreting some of the fundamental ideas of Bach’s music (namely the two-part structure, the recurrence of voice articulation, and the typically Baroque contrast of a stable zone and a dynamic evolution). The choice of compositional material favours certain stylistic elements, which are emphasized gradually during the performance of the piece. Hence, the most prominent features are repeated quavers over a chromatically/diatonically descending bass, a descending four-semiquaver pattern of the first riff with an emphatically expressive connotation, as well as excerpts of original musical material which return in more elaborate guises.

Paolo Geminiani, Metonimie (Shadows of a Bach's Andante, 2015)

Gesture without motion is a piece for violin and recorded electro-acoustic sounds [1]. It was written by the Italian composer Paolo Geminiani (1960-), who received his musical education in Bologna. The work is inspired by the words of Thomas S. Eliot – «shape without form, shade without colour, paralyzed force, gesture without motion». In a seemingly motionless three-part structure, antithetical themes are developed wherein the sound of the violin blends with electro-acoustic sounds in a consciously organized structure, all in a perfect harmony of sound and intent. The violin sound moves from solo cadences to polyphonic textures, and, starting from a medium-low register, it then culminates in acute harmonics (such as sul ponticello or tremolo), overlaying pedal tones in the low register. It is a piece of great impact, where musical timbres and electroacoustic resonances are sensibly blended.

Alessandro Cazzato