Unter Spannung

Tobias Schick

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Trio

2015

12 min.

Accordion

Cello

Soprano Saxophone

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Program Notes: If an elastic band is under tension, it exhibits a high potential energy, for which there are hardly any externally visible signs except for a slight tremor. The greater the energy of tension, the greater the force with which a band or spring recoils. This observation underlies the trio work Unter Spannung. It begins with repetitive, air-like figures that do not radiate tranquility, although they are located on the threshold of audibility. Rather, the rapid, nervously darting movements are of a high, subliminal energy that results not least from the awareness that they can turn into their absolute opposite at any moment. Short tonal gestures repeatedly hint at the expressive and sonic potential of the music, yet without letting us know when the rubber will be released and snap back: Again and again, brief, glaring flashes of sound cut through the delicate yet nervously tense fabric of the music. The expressive contrasts are matched by the physical posture of the performers, who must expend a great deal of energy, especially in the quiet passages, to control the noise sounds and prevent the instruments from swinging freely. Only gradually does the tension dissolve and the contrasts come closer together. A delicate chamber-musical mesh emerges, whose sound intensity gently swells while the sudden outbursts gradually recede. After about two-thirds of the piece, a balanced state is reached at which point a new development begins. The three instruments play largely independent lines that gradually drift apart, reaching a renewed state of tension that comes to an unexpected end.
Ensemble Name: Trio Saeitenwind