Sorabji question

[thalbergmad]

Hmm, some posts appear to have vanished.

[ryguillian]

Hmm, some posts appear to have vanished.

Oh no, I just wrote them in disappearing ink. Like the orchestration of some of Sorabji's works. It was a pun, but I guess it fell on deaf ears.

[pokeythepenguin]

why is it given the title Opus Clavicembalisticum

Clavicembalisticum is a cluster of Latin prefixes and suffixes.  Each one means something and refers to one of the five movements:

Clav- is the root of "wound", such as "to wound with a knife".  The first movement is supposed to be reminiscent of a fight against a mythical dragon, which is why it is so relatable, harmonically, to the works of Yngwie Malmsteen.

Icem- well, obviously means ice.  This movement is supposed to be very cold and leave you with the shivers!  Brrrr!

Bal- Was the norse demon of insects.  This movement is supposed to be evocative of the great 1867 locust swarm that destroyed all the corn and wheat in scotland, Sorabji;s home country.

isti- "isti" is actually the root, and it's a type of jazz.  He couldn't help but throw in his old-timey jazz idioms and motifs, and this movement is an ecclectic combination of original pieces and the works of Ornette Coleman.

Cum- is supposed to represent the tremoring climaxes in the last movement, as it is 45 minutes of 4 chords being transposed through all octaves.



Hope this was helpful =)

[thalbergmad]

Oh no, I just wrote them in disappearing ink. Like the orchestration of some of Sorabji's works. It was a pun, but I guess it fell on deaf ears.

Well, it certainly brightened up my otherwise uneventful evening.

Thal

[ryguillian]

Well, it certainly brightened up my otherwise uneventful evening.

Thal

Thanks. Soft words of encouragement make me happier. Like that breeze that ruffles the curtains right before 5-6 PM near the park. Thank you.

[ahinton]

Because that's the title Sorabji chose and what he wanted for the piece, even though one of the original versions opened in chords not single melodies like Haberman prefers in octaves, even.

This is of course true but, as a matter of fact, it is not quite the whole truth. The title that Sorabji originally gave to the piece was Opus Sequentiale, although he changed it to Opus Clavicemalisticum at some point during its composition (this amendment can be seen on the first page on music in the ms.). I do not know what possessed Sorabji to try the chordal opening (which he wrote out as an alternative solution at some point) - and it is significant that, in his own "working copy" publication of the piece (the copy to which he added many corrections by hand, albeit still leaving many errors!), he adds not chords but octaves to that initial phrase as an alternative - but personally I think that the single note opening is by far the most arresting, especially given the sheer welter of notes in the piece as a whole - it seems almost to usher it in with an abiding sense of "abandon hope all ye who enter here", as if to be played by that trumpet in the Book of Revelation. It is, of course, that single note opening that appears in the publication and which has accordingly been adopted by all the pianists who have so far played the work complete.

Best,

Alistair