Programme Note
Intermezzi is a set of six pieces based on the lieder of Franz Schubert. Moto Perpetuo, Lament, and Ballad take fragments of material from specific Schubert lieder - Gretchen am Spinnrade, Der Doppelgänger, Erlkönig - and develop them in unexpected ways. In contrast, Nocturne, Bagatelle, and Serenade evoke the atmosphere of a selection of Schubert’s night songs, serenades, and songs about rivers and water.
Intermezzi was commissioned by Sheila Arnold and Alexander-Sergei Ramirez who gave the first performance on 19th August 2022, at the Celle Sommerkonzerte series, Germany.
The Instruments
Although Intermezzi was written for Romantic guitar and fortepiano, it works just as well on a modern guitar with a modern piano. The modern guitar should be lightly amplified in performance.
The instruments used for the first performances of Intermezzi were a Stauffer copy guitar and Dulcken copy fortepiano with moderator (felt), una corda, and Fagottzug pedals. However, any fortepiano and Romantic guitar can be used in performance. Pedal colours can be added ad lib. The fortepiano part has a range of 6 octaves (F1 to f4) and the Romantic guitar part has ossia passages if the instrument used is a Panormo, Lacôte, or similar instrument without the highest frets of a Stauffer.
