1 Maltempi © Franca OSVALDO COLUCCINO (*1963) Emblema The collaboration between composer and performers chamber music (2009–2015) started with a concert at Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice in 2016, where Emblema 5 was performed on commission by the Gran Teatro La Fenice di Venezia. Work for the album Emblema continued thanks to the concert at the Festival 1 Emblema 1 4 Emblema 5 della Musica Contemporanea Italiana in Forli, and other for flute/bass flute, bass clarinet, for clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2011) 17:18 rehearsals later took place in Venice on Sestiere Castello. violin, viola and cello (2009–2010) 08:55 5 Emblema 6 Emblema 2 is a composition for 12 instruments and has 2 Emblema 3 for bass flute, bass clarinet and not been recorded for this project. But this absence is also for flute and violin (2009–2010) 09:36 cello (2012) 08:54 a poetic choice, in order to offer an intimate album with fewer instruments. 3 Emblema 4 6 Emblema 7 All tracks are world premiere recordings. for violin, viola and cello (2011) 09:20 for flute, clarinet, violin and cello (2015) 07:12 24bit/96khz hi-res recordings, in two renowned halls for classical music recordings. TT 52:54 Recording venues: 1 2 3 5 Salone Rosso, Monastery of Villa San Fermo, Lonigo (Vicenza), Italy 4 6 Fazioli Concert Hall, Sacile (Pordenone), Italy Recording dates: 1 2 3 5 30 January 2017 Ex Novo Ensemble 4 6 18 January 2017 Daniele Ruggieri flute Recording engineers: 1 2 3 5 Matteo Costa Davide Teodoro clarinet 4 6 Andrea Dandolo, Matteo Costa, Davide Corsato Carlo Lazari violin Editing, Mixing: Osvaldo Coluccino Liner notes: Ettore Garzia, Osvaldo Coluccino Mario Paladin viola Translation: Osvaldo Coluccino Carlo Teodoro cello Publisher: Osvaldo Coluccino Aldo Orvieto piano Graphic design: Alexander Kremmers (paladino media), cover based on artwork by Enrique Fuentes 2 3 Osvaldo Coluccino – Emblema Coluccino’s music captures a neural image that, for the possible “forcing” of the intimate and unified In Emblema 6, the bass tones by the woodwinds (flute thanks to this kind of discovery, can simultaneously character expressed by the author. Coluccino uses un- and clarinet) intersect magically with the ones by the Ettore Garzia give shivers or be welcoming. It is a vitality that en- conventional techniques that work on the nuances of cello in a special suspensive atmosphere, reproduc- ters into the most intimate thoughts about what sur- the sound, through delicate pizzicatos and pressure ing perfectly the substance of a shape with cadenced, In the vast domain of contemporary music, the origi- rounds us, triggering deep and pertinent questions on the strings, refined work on the keys of the wood- sliding images, thanks to a great interlacing of multi- nality of a proposal is only achieved through a par- through its actors and, without artificial complexi- winds, to extract the sound of the acoustic cavity from phonics, airy sounds and concrete sounds, shown in ticular “circumvention” of the compositional condi- ty or repetition, manages to be the only and suffi- them and, above all, he makes a magnificent work of detail in the score. tions: choosing to use certain materials according cient material for musical expansion. I can assert that time regulation on the pauses. That’s how you get to to rules that mistreat the elements that make up the Coluccino is making one of the most worthy paths know his sound slides, a casing to capture the human- Emblema 7 matures the feeling of flying over the aisles music (modification or reset of harmony, of the me- of continuity for contemporary symbolism in Italy: I ity of characters or objects, where perfomances be- of a large church and works on sophisticated sounds lodic line, of the times, of the dynamics, etc.), proj- think of the great and inherent experiences of Luigi comes essential. that are capable of creating fairy fluctuations, interro- ects the thought of the composer, beyond any dis- Nono or, later, those of Stefano Gervasoni, who linked gating frescoes and hearing their claims. covery about the sounds. This thought, moreover, is the symbolism to the phonetic and semantic charac- In Emblema 1, the construction swings between the also elaborated on interdisciplinary factors with the ters of the language, imposing a type of dramaturgy silent digging of the bottom by the woodwinds and Symbolism returns as a way of exploring the un- other arts: usually the composer is also a hidden poet, divided between perception of sounds and concepts the one of the metals by the strings, intertwined by known. Everything ends up as it started. But in the painter or writer, who put in the music such connec- to express. Coluccino is even more in the realm of silences that seem to assume the proportions of the middle there is a unique experience. tion. pure sound and its visual power. His language is de- Fibonacci’s folds; special sound spectra, residues liberately emotional, and, with a strong humanistic I would say, that are mingled with silence and inspire Translation from Italian Osvaldo Coluccino (*1963) is an outstanding exam- endowment, does not pursue a positivist propulsion, a psychological dimension. by Osvaldo Coluccino ple of these principles: the “circumvention” proposed nor does he want to argue about conceptualities pro- by Coluccino (who is also a poet) has a fantastic way vided by events (as in the case of Cage). In spite of Emblema 3 has a more articulated plot, studied for out because he works on an approach that develops this, the score is scientifically accurate in the formu- flute and violin, where sounds cross as a moving wa- the music-art binomial in a way that only a few have lation of pitches, intervals, rhythmic micro-divisions, termark, and, within it, intercept a dialogue that is been able to formulate in a clear and fulfilled manner designation of timbral colors. The most substantial mystery and serene reflection at the same time. way in contemporary music. His music has an obvious test bench to affirm such his depth, is the chamber symbolist imprint that a mature listening returns in its music, often organized in a structure that resembles Emblema 4, for violin, viola and cello, increases the entirety: it is a structure built with frames, where the unions in a cycle, with compositions that have a logic prospective state given by music, the ability to imag- instruments appear and vanish, the colors are tenu- that is interchangeable between the movements; in ine moving around in an environment to observe ous and transport the listener to an amazing sound this specific monograph for KAIROS, Coluccino pres- what is happening, where every sequence of notes world of the interior, a suggestion that responds im- ents the chronological cycle of Emblema, 6 compo- has its own profile. mediacy to our soul. We look for explanations, like sitions perfectly performed by the Ex Novo Ensem- being in front of a painting in which the figures or ble. Indeed, Coluccino composed 7 pieces, but in In Emblema 5, the presence of the piano increases objects are able to make sense, to make statements this collection the composer preferred to exclude the the introspective space, seeks out support, poetical- and to have a voice, despite the immobility of what is Emblema 2 for 12 instruments, due to the increased ly, while the rest remains suspended in a magnificent physically present in our eyes. instrumental substance, a frightening circumstance segmentation. 4 5 Osvaldo Coluccino – Emblema oggetti sono in grado di muovere senso, di fare affer- di Emblema, 6 composizioni perfettamente esegui- In Emblema 5, la presenza del pianoforte accresce lo mazioni e di avere una voce, nonostante l’immobilità te dall’Ex Novo Ensemble. In verità Coluccino ne ha spazio introspettivo, cerca appoggi poeticamente, Ettore Garzia sia ciò che si presenta fisicamente ai nostri occhi. composte 7, ma in questa raccolta il compositore ha mentre il resto rimane sospeso in una magnifica seg- preferito escludere l’Emblema 2 per 12 strumenti, per mentazione. Attraverso la musica di Coluccino si coglie un’im- via dell’accresciuta sostanza strumentale, una cir- magine neurale che, per tipo di scoperta, al tempo costanza che spaventava per le possibili “forzature” In Emblema 6, le tonalità di basso dei fiati (flauto e cla- stesso può dar brividi o esser accogliente, una vita- del carattere intimo e unitario espresso dall’autore. rinetto) si intersecano magicamente con quelle di un Nell’ampio dominio della musica contemporanea, lità che si addentra nei pensieri più intimi di ciò che Coluccino si serve di tecniche non convenzionali che violoncello in un clima sospensivo speciale, riprodu- l’originalità di una proposta viene raggiunta solo con ci circonda, che ci fa scattare domande profonde e lavorano sulla sfumatura del suono, tramite delicati cendo perfettamente la sostanza di una forma a im- un particolare “raggiro” delle condizioni compositive: pertinenti attraverso i suoi attori e, senza complessi- pizzicati e pressioni sulle corde, artifici sulle chiavi de- magini cadenzate, a scorrimento, grazie a un grande la scelta di utilizzare alcuni materiali secondo regole tà manierata né ripetizioni, riesce a essere la materia gli strumenti a fiato, per estrarre da essi il suono della intreccio di multifonici, suoni ariosi e concreti, pun- che bistrattano gli elementi che compongono la mu- unica e sufficiente per l’espansione musicale. Mi sen- cavità acustica, e soprattutto svolge un lavoro di rego- teggiati nella partitura. sica (modificazioni o azzeramento dell’armonia, della to di poter affermare che Coluccino sta compiendo lazione temporale magnifico sulle pause. È così che si linea melodica, dei tempi, delle dinamiche, ecc.), pro- uno dei più degni percorsi di continuazione del sim- arriva a conoscere le sue diapositive di suoni, involu- Emblema 7 matura la sensazione di sorvolare le nava- ietta il pensiero del compositore, aldilà di qualsivoglia bolismo contemporaneo in Italia: penso alle grandi e cro per captare l’umanesimo di personaggi o ogget- te di una grande chiesa europea e lavora su suoni ri- scoperta sui suoni.