From: mccomt@aix.rpi.edu (Dr. Todd Michel McComb)
Subject: Scelsi cello music review
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 15:32:17 GMT


Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988) wrote much of his large output for strings,
either for solo instruments or in combinations including five quartets.
Scelsi's concentration on string writing began in the mid-50s, at about
the time he was writing his last piano suites and eventually abandoning
that instrument which had to that time been his primary means of expression.
From the mid-50s onward, Scelsi's most intimate compositions are written
for strings -- often performing solo, and in many ways this is the heart
of his output.

Recently released on CD on Etcetera KTC 1136 is Frances-Marie Uitti
performing the Trilogia for solo cello along with Ko-Tha for modified
cello.  Certainly Trilogia is the major work on the disc, and the center
piece of Scelsi's early output for solo strings.  Uitti worked with
Scelsi at his home, and this CD is a re-issue of a dutch recording made
in 1979.  In this way, Uitti is grouped with the performers Michiko
Hirayama and the Arditti Quartet which were chosen by Scelsi to record some
of his music -- and her performance of the Trilogia can be considered
definitive.  Her control of the multiple-string polyphony is impressive,
and she brings a mature polish to some very difficult instrumental work.
This recording is a must for anyone interested in Scelsi's chamber music.

The immense work Trilogia (The Three Ages of Man) is made of three smaller
pieces of normal length for Scelsi (each just over thirteen minutes) which
were written at different times and combined to form this epic saga.  The
first of the group is Triphon which can be considered Scelsi's first real
string masterpiece in his new style.  According to the CD, this piece dates
from 1957 but in two other sources it dates from 1956.  One of these sources
includes David Simpson's recording of Triphon on FY 119; Simpson's
performance is good, though the mixing on the recording makes it a little
dim, and his interpretation cannot have the historical weight of Uitti's.
However, since Uitti helped in the cataloging of Scelsi's music, the date
1957 might be more accurate; in this case, there is not much difference but
other works have a greater spread in the date assigned to them.

Anyway, Triphon (1956) represents a culmination of Scelsi's string writing
in the mid-50s.  This ouput begins with Divertimentos for solo violin of
which there are five; the third (1955) is recorded on Accord 200622.  Scelsi
apparently used the title Divertimento because these pieces are in a
traditional tonal idiom -- however, they are quite serious and show Scelsi's
incredible mastery of this idiom.  Another earlier work is Coelocanth (1955)
for solo viola (also on Accord 200622) which shows something of a transition
between the traditional style and the style of Triphon.  Here the first
movements sound a bit unsure, but the last really looks forward to the
polyphonic style which was to occupy Scelsi for the next ten years.  Triphon
is subtitled "Youth - Energy - Drama" and is a work of intense individuality,
which would be very difficult to anticipate from Coelocanth or any other music.
Here Scelsi begins the use of two kinds of metallic mutes for individual
strings, and the first movement consists mainly of a slow recitative in
the lower register under a fast buzzing (achieved via individual metallic
mutes, at times scraping) interplay in upper voices.  The sound is quite
intense, and is somewhat reminiscent of the buzz of indian sitar.  The
third movement Drama is indeed highly dramatic, and consists of Scelsi's
intense polyphonic style in which different voices use different forms of
ornamentation concurrently (presenting unusual instrumental problems for
the performer.)  There is certainly some violence in this work, but after
repeated hearings the overall effect is not a violent one -- indeed, the
sharp overtone sprectrum on a sitar is considered not at all aggresive in
India.

The second part of the Trilogia is the single-movement work Dithome
which the CD dates also from 1957.  I find this date rather dubious, but
have no other references.  There is quite a bit of stylistic difference
between Triphon and Dithome, though some of that can certainly be ascribed
to their different stated descriptive intentions.  The subtitle of Dithome
is "Maturity - Energy - Thought" which obviously shows reference to the
earlier work, however it is in one long movement -- possibly Scelsi's 
longest (the longest recorded) and probably the most exhausting.  The sound
world of this piece corresponds much more closely to the Quartet No. 2
(1961) than to Triphon, and in fact represents something of a companion
piece to that epoch-making Quartet (for that reason, I suspect the date
may be as late as 1960 though the more I listen to Scelsi, the more I
wonder about dating his music at all.)  Here there is even more concentrated
use of microtonal interplay between voices as well as unisons, the overall
effect is much more calm and polished.  Concerning Scelsi's use of unisons
in polyphony, it is important to note that in the composer's 80-word
autobiography he mentions his "medieval education" which apparently had some
consequence for him -- and his use of unisons and open intervals can be seen
as a continuation of Binchois and Ockeghem some five hundred years later.
Scelsi's inspiration is quite cosmopolitan in almost every conceivable sense
of the term.  At any rate, Dithome can be viewed as an ABCBA form in which
the middle section is much expanded, at times homophonic and songlike and at
times involving quick microtonal manipulations, always more restrained than
Triphon which neglects homophony.  The A-sections are single voice melodies,
the second recapitulating the first.  The B-sections are intense microtonal
polyphony (which took me more than a little effort to follow), as impressive
and powerful as anything in Scelsi's output.  Dithome is a symmetric piece
(though nothing is repeated exactly) and as opposed to the Quartet No. 4, it
is centrally symmetric.  Also as opposed to Quartet No. 4 where the second
"half" is arguably more intense than the first, in Dithome the first B-section
is by far the most challenging; whereas the fourth quartet is a study in the
path of least resistance and sneaks up on a listener, Dithome packs a big
punch in the first moments.  Exactly how the form relates to the poetic title,
I am not sure -- though the B-section will surely impart some listening
maturity.

The third part of the Trilogia is the piece Ygghur (which means catharsis
in Sanskrit) which is again in three movements and subtitled "Old Age -
Memories - Catharsis."  The CD dates it from 1961, though other sources
date it from 1965 -- in this case, the dating is more interesting since
Ygghur is notated on one stave per string which Scelsi officially began
in 1964 with the fourth Quartet, making the 1965 date seem reasonable.
Another piece, one of the Scelsi's masterpieces Elegia per Ty (recorded on
Accord 200622) is also notated one stave per string and has the conflicting
dates 1958 and 1966 associated with it.  Given that Scelsi often recorded
a piece (at least in the case of piano music) and only subsequently had it
notated, it seems plausible that these pieces may have been completely composed
and even performed on the the earlier dates and only notated in final form
after the issue of notation was resolved.  This idea is rather interesting
since Scelsi's orchestral output came mostly from the early-60s, and makes
his creative work in the late 50s truly awesome (in which case pieces like
the Quattro Pezzi on a single note (1959) can be seen as simplifications
not so much for personal study and eventual expansion, but to help the
listener with the music already composed.)  Whether or not there is any
truth to this, Ygghur is notated one stave per string and therefore deserves
to be considered with Scelsi's mature summations of his string style dating
from the mid-60s, these being the Quartet No. 4 (1964), Xnoybis (1964) for
solo violin, Ygghur (1965) for solo cello, Manto (1966) for solo viola
along with the Duo for violin and cello (1965) and Elegia per Ty (1966) for
viola and cello.  Within this group (though I have not heard Manto, which I
hope will be released soon), Ygghur is much more personal than the extremely
technical (and perhaps instructional) Quartet No. 4 which is a study in pure
form, and the highly intense and technical Xnoybis which is extremely
difficult.  It is also rather easier than any of these pieces which makes the
1961 date more plausible, though the difficulty may have been reduced in order
not to overwhelm the other pieces in the Trilogia (which the Elegia certainly
would.)

Scelsi apparently wrote six duos for strings.  In addition to the two from
this period using the cello, there is Arc-en-ciel (1973) for two violins,
Nuits for two double bases, and two others which are still unknown.  The Duo
for violin and cello is seen as a study for the Elegia (though if the 1958
date is accurate this is rather dubious, unless as purely a study in notation)
and consists of two movements which are basically independent illustrations;
the power of the two illustrations should not be underestimated though, and
the work builds somewhat on Xnoybis and also makes for a good introduction
to the mid-60s ouput (the Quartet No. 4 is really formally simpler
than any of these pieces.)  The Elegia is an astonishing, mournful masterpiece
which continues to show new aspects -- it is very difficult to digest.
By the fourth Quartet, Scelsi's string writing is so expanded that a quartet
sounds like an orchestra and so these duos represent an important level
in his chamber music, perhaps taking the place of the traditional quartet.

Returning to Ygghur, the first movement "Old Age" anticipates/recalls the
first movement of the Elegia, with its concentration on poignancy.  The
second movement "Memories" echoes much of Scelsi's output to that time,
though in particular the slow "gong" movement of the first quartet and anything
else in disembodied form.  The final movement "Catharsis" is mostly in high
registers, very restrained, and looks forward to much of Scelsi's string
writing in the late-60s and the early 70s with their slow, restrained 
microtonal glissandi; as such it is not really as successful, though it takes
some audacity to even attempt a movement on catharsis specifically.  Whatever
its position with respect to Scelsi's 60s string ouput, Ygghur represents
a fitting conclusion to the Trilogia and it can be assumed that it was at this
point when the complete Trilogia was assembled.

In 1974, Scelsi wrote two more pieces for solo cello collectively titled
Voyages.  One of these, Le Fleuve Magique, has been recorded by Robin
Clavreuil on Adda 581189.  This piece hardly exists: it is only two minutes
long and operates in fleeting harmonics.  Nonetheless, it takes the listener
on a real voyage and it is in such brief passages that Scelsi's genius can
be most easily felt.  In addition to the Trilogia, Uitti's CD includes 
Ko-Tha "A Dance of Shiva" which was arranged for six-string cello by Uitti
in 1978 and recorded in Rome.  The original was for amplified guitar, though
one wonders whether Scelsi may have had the south indian veena in mind (which
was played with electronic pickups by the late great Balachander) since the
sound evokes the veena, though the lack of melody is certainly not indian.
This piece consists largely of quickly arpeggiated, decaying chords much
as in Aitsi (1974).  In this case, there is also some rapping on the body
of the cello.  The piece is rather engaging, and an extreme example of one
aspect of Scelsi's late music.

As a whole, the Trilogia represents much of Scelsi's mature style in an
epic journey through his life.  It is extremely powerful music reduced to
its barest essentials for a single cello, yet producing at times a huge
variety and intensity of sound.  It is one of Scelsi's masterpieces, and
sure to take its place in all modern cello repertoires.

T. M. McComb

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