Martinaityte Žibuokle

Chiaroscuro Trilogy

The works of New York -based Lithuanian composer Žibuokle Martinaityte (b. 1973) have been lauded as breathtaking and profoundly moving. Her stimulating music bristles with energy and tension and revolves often around the subject of beauty, which she calls both a guiding principle and an aesthetic measure for sonic quality. The composer writes: 'Mostly used in the context of visual art, chiaroscuro (it. chiaro - light, scuro- dark) is a word that encompasses both - darkness and light and thus profoundly reflects the very essence of our existence. Visual artists throughout the ages were fascinated by light, which can only be made visible through a violent contrast. In this piece I was exploring darkness and light through sounds in varied proportions and their relation to one another. Every part of the trilogy focuses on a particular aspect of this relationship, encompassing a large scale of gradations from the light of darkness to the darkness of light. The in-between states of shadows are created through a timbral use of string instruments woven into a textural density of micro-gestural movements. In Part I 'Tunnel' both states of light are clearly juxtaposed with a subtle gradual transition from darkness into a stark light. Part II 'Meteors' resides entirely in the dark with randomly illuminating streaks of light. Part III 'Darkness of Light' brings us to the presence of light with ever-present shadows of darkness. '