improvisation on "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich

[kalospiano]

https://soundcloud.com/kalos-piano/caspar-david-friedrichs-wanderer-above-the-sea-of-fog-a-piano-improvisation

For my third improvisational experiment I'm tackling Caspar David Friedrich's masterpiece, "Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer", also known as "Wanderer above the Mist" or "Mountaineer in a Misty Landscape".
I'm trying to capture the dark, gloomy tones and the solemn landscape of the painting with some deep, low octaves. The whole piece is a very slow buildup until a dramatic crescendo between 2:35 and 2:55, which ultimately gives space to the ending. The minor harmonic mode is a pervasive element of this improv, together with percussive dimished and augmented chords and just a sprinkle of clusters and whole tone scale, suggesting uncertainty and potential danger as the man in the image gazes from high above over the impenetrable mist, maybe scared of what lies beneath, unsuccesfully trying to discern something through the fog... some sign of the future to come, perhaps, or some distant, unfathomable memory, distorted by the incessant, unforgiving flow of time.
Main inspirations for this improvisation are most likely Satie's "Gnossiennes", Rachmaninoff's "Red Riding Hood" etude and the late Liszt, especially his "Nuage Gris". Of the three improvs I've done until now, I think this is the one which would have benefited the most from more technical prowess, so I might elaborate it more in the future, but I feel that it already succeeds quite well in transmitting my feelings about this painting.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

What a great idea to improvise on this iconic painting. I'm deliberately not going to listen to this until I've improvised also on it, then I'll get back to you with comments.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I like this. Good harmonic ideas with tension and it doesn't get static.

I certainly hear the late Liszt influences.

[kalospiano]

Thank you Ronde... I guess you really like Romanticism, huh?
I'm glad you think that my performance doesn't get static cos I actually do feel it was a bit too static and could have used more variety. But still, guess it could be worse

[quantum]

I think this piece is very effective at conveying your impressions on the painting.  Not static at all, more like a consistent mood.  There were sufficient variations that I did not feel the music lacked movement.  Rather, I felt drawn in more as the music progressed.  The vast expanse of distance between the person standing, and what they are looking at was very well highlighted in your improvisation.