{"id":3699,"date":"2019-01-13T23:15:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-13T23:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=3699"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:55:24","slug":"karim-al-zand-music-six-bagatelles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=3699","title":{"rendered":"Karim Al-Zand: Music: Six Bagatelles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Six Bagatelles<\/h2>\n

after prints of Robert Motherwell<\/span><\/h5>\n
for piano trio<\/h5>\n

S<\/span>ix Bagatelles<\/i> for violin, cello and piano is inspired by the art of Robert Motherwell (1915\u20131991). The six short pieces which make up the trio for piano, violin and cello are each named after an image by the American abstract artist. The prints were chosen for their vibrant and contrasting color and their strong iconic character. The bagatelles sometimes depict the artworks musically, but more often spring from my subjective impressions of them\u2014their atmosphere, mood, emotion or \u201cfeel\u201d\u2014or occasionally from a particular technical device the artist uses. Motherwell once remarked: \u201cMake no mistake, abstract art is a form of mysticism.\u201d In some ways, modern concert music can be similarly mystical: its \u201cmeaning\u201d shrouded, its gestures symbolic,<\/p>\n

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Motherwell: Mezzotint in Indigo<\/p><\/div>\n

and its narrative highly interpretive. More than most other pieces I have written, it is this elusive (and allusive) aspect of music and art that Six Bagatelles centers around.
\n\u201cMezzotint in Indigo\u201d is part of Motherwell\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d series, which makes use of vivid color backdrops to a rectangular shadow-like line. My bagatelle has the strings form a vibrating backdrop, while the piano \u201ccarves up\u201d the musical space with a line of stark chords. A tinge of the blues in this bagatelle reflects my association of \u201cindigo\u201d with Ellington\u2019s classic masterpiece Mood Indigo.<\/p>\n

The central figures of \u201cOrange Lyric\u201d are typical of Motherwell in their thick brush technique, and pliable calligraphic lines.<\/p>\n

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Motherwell: Gauloises Bleues<\/p><\/div>\n

The bagatelle is lyrical as well, in the violin, with the piano offering curved arabesques.<\/p>\n

\u201cGauloises Bleues\u201d is again an iconic Motherwell image. The paper packaging for Gauloises cigarettes, with its pale \u201cFrench blue\u201d color, were a constant fascination for the artist. The brand, smoked by the likes of Satre, Picasso, Brigid Bardot and John Lennon, symbolized a hip, cosmopolitan Parisian vibe. Musically, the piano is cool and detached here, unmoved by the caf\u00e9 groove in the strings.<\/p>\n

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Motherwell: Yellow Chord<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cYellow Chord\u201d uses a single harmony and figure in the piano, repeated trance-like, while the strings sing stirring echoes of one another.\u201cThree Forms in Red\u201d\u2014both the print and the bagatelle\u2014presents three contrasting gestures side-by-side.<\/p>\n

The last image reverts to black, part of a series of book prints the artist made for a volume by Octavio Paz. The bagatelle \u201cBlack Elegy Returning Black\u201d is designated a Nocturne, a title Motherwell also used frequently. The piece makes veiled reference to Chopin\u2019s Nocturne Op. 27\/1, in the manner of an artistic collage.<\/p>\n

Six Bagatelles was commissioned for Musiqa by Carrie Shoemake in memory of Ed Shoemake, a longtime supporter of Musiqa and former chair of our board of directors. His love of music and art (particularly the work of Motherwell), his dedication to Musiqa and his immense generosity of spirit were an inspiration to all of us.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

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purchase score & parts<\/span><\/h4> <\/span>Learn More<\/span><\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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DATE<\/br>2018<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

DURATION<\/br>10 minutes<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

INSTRUMENTATION<\/br>violin, cello, piano<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

MOVEMENTS<\/br>1. Mezzotint in Indigo
\n2. Orange Lyric
\n3. Gauloises Bleues
\n4. Yellow Chord
\n5. Three Forms in Red
\n6. Black Elegy Returning Black (Nocturne)<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

COMMISSION<\/br>for Musiqa by Carrie Shoemake in memory of Ed Shoemake<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

PREMI\u00c8RE<\/br>January 12, 2019 | MATCH, Houston, TX
\nNatalie Lin, violin | Barrett Sills, cello | Wesley Ducote, piano<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

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AUDIO
\n1. Mezzotint in Indigo

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\n2. Orange Lyric
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\n3. Gauloises Bleues
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\n4. Yellow Chord
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\n5. Three Forms in Red
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\n6. Black Elegy Returning Black (Nocturne)
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SCORE
\nPDF<\/a><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

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VIDEO<\/p>\n