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Anno cum tettigonia (1980)

from The Small Spectacle by Bronius Kutavičius

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about

'Anno cum tettigonia' (Year with the Grasshopper) for string quartet and tape (1980) is a composition of rational craftsmanship, based upon a unique harmony (which brings to mind the scale of ancient Lithuanian 'skudučiai' — panpipes) and a precisely ordered presentation of musical gradations. This piece, composed in canon form, is considered a classic of Lithuanian minimalism. Its texture is woven with increasing density until it reaches a culmination, whereupon it gradually grows sparse until it thins out completely. The grasshopper is the symbol for a year in Japanese mythology. The timing in this quartet is measured with accurate precision: it is comprised of 365 measures, at every seventh measure there is a slight variation in rhythm, and a recording of a bell tolling is heard twelve times.

It may be that, for the composer, a chirping grasshopper is a symbol of personal significance. In an interview with the musicologist Inga Jasinskaitė-Jankauskienė, he admitted that, in childhood, he was profoundly affected by the sound of the violin: 'I was astounded, I thought it was a miracle'. In his oeuvre, the sounds of string instruments are the most beautiful and the most varied. Perhaps Kutavičius intended to compose a quartet in 365 measures, which could recur, linger, and last for eternity.

Austė Nakienė

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from The Small Spectacle, released December 31, 2011
Chordos String Quartet
Recording engineer - Arūnas Zujus (MAMA Studios)

℗ Music Information Centre Lithuania

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