Karim Al-Zand: Music: Tableau and Details

Tableau and Details

for cello & piano

Tableau and Details draws its inspiration from the world of art.
There is a certain sort of landscape painting which I find particularly appealing: the panoramic canvas depicting a multitude of action, the kind of crowded scenes you often see in the work of Bosch and Bruegel. At first glance, a work like Bruegel’s Children’s Games (left) is chaotic and disorienting, a jumbled vista of people, objects and architecture all vying for attention. There is so much going on that it takes a while to grasp it all, to absorb the whole scene through its innumerable details: a furtive romance in one corner, a decorative church facade in another, wildlife roaming in a distant field. Art books often present such paintings first as a whole, and then as a series of magnified details, each focusing on a small area of the picture. Tableau and Details reveals its material in a similar way. A short opening “tableau” presents the complete palette of the work. Its four disparate gestures are characteristic and identifiable, but lack depth or development. The subsequent “details” train a magnifying glass on each gesture in turn. After having heard the details “up close,” the hope is that the tableau, in its reprise, becomes richer and more meaningful. Tableau and Details was written for the Fischer Duo on the occasion of their 35th anniversary.

SCORE + RECORDING VIDEO