Mystery of the moment
Olari Elts conductor
Hans-Kristian Sørensen cimbalom
Claude Debussy: Danse
Henri Dutilleux: Mystère de l’instant for cimbalom, strings, and percussion
Claude Debussy: La plus que lente CD 128
Intermission
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 2, Movements II and III
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony in A major, R.259
The moment is a state of being that resonates in space. In the moment, time has not stopped, but condensed: the past, the present, and the future are simultaneously present. A musical moment is singular and unique; it is experienced in the present but can only be grasped in retrospect. Henri Dutilleux’s Mystère de l'instant explores the “mystery of the moment” and weaves a chain of moments linking back to Debussy and perhaps even Saint-Saëns. As a guarantee of this uniqueness, a Balkan folk instrument, cimbalom, rattles between the strings and percussion. Its string arrangement is a mystery to everyone except Hans-Kristian Sørensen. Dutilleux’s interest in the exotic was shared by his French predecessors, whose works conductor Olari Elts has included in the concert program.
