Karol Beffa

Vertigo

Even if there is no quotation from the American composer in my clarinet quintet Vertigo, the title is a reference to Bernard Herrmann, a musician who is dear to me and whose biography I am currently writing for Actes Sud. The work is in four movements that can be played independently. The first immediately installs us in an atmosphere full of rhythmic vivacity, the pizzicati of the cello imitating those of a jazzy double bass. The second allows himself a few allusions to klezmer music. The third is a very contemplative meditation where clarinet and quartet instruments respond to each other on enigmatic quivering textures. As for the fourth, there are nods to the rock, pop, techno and funk of James Brown. I would like us to feel the "vertigo" born of the telescoping of several atmospheres, all haunted by an omnipresent pulsation.