| Year of Composition: | 2011 |
| Duration: | 12 |
| Instrumentation: | satb |
| Text (language): | Sigitas Geda (Lithuanian) |
Premiere:
20 May 2011, at the Piano LT Concert Hall, Vilnius; performers: Jauna Muzika Choir of Vilnius Municipality, conductor Vaclovas Augustinas.
Programme note:
In CODA, written for the monochrome ensemble of 16 voices or larger choral group, Mažulis expresses his heartfelt sorrow over the passing away of his wife Snieguolė Mažulienė (1961–2010). This mournful piece is set to the eponymous love poem by Sigitas Geda taken from his last collection of poems, Suite for Virginija (2008). In seven lines only the poet managed to embrace the intensity of unremitting yearning, inner suffering and affection for the deceased. The philosophical and psychological implications of the verbal text are mirrored in the musical structure of the piece. The latter is composed of two clearly divided sections which differ in the manner of notation (the first is written out as a full score, while the second is laid out as separate parts), composing technique (two strictly composed canon cycles in the first section and aleatory in the second, allowing performers to freely interpret indefinite rhythmic values), and the emotional purport. The calm wavering of canons at the close interval of second is thus disrupted by a sharp cluster, formed by asynchronously moving individual voices that recite on a single pitch each, as in the priest’s prayer. As if the placid and even motion would abruptly change into chaos that wells up like a delirious stream of consciousness.
Laura Kaščiukaitė
CODA
O tavęs jau nėra, tu išėjusi, tavęs niekur nėr.
Būtų Viešpats man davęs akis geresnes,
kad tave dar labiau aš regėčiau.
Būtų Viešpats man davęs rankas ilgesnes,
kad labiau aš tave apkabinčiau.
Būtų Viešpats man davęs ir širdį tauresnę,
kad tave dar labiau aš mylėčiau.
********
And you are not here anymore; you are gone; you are nowhere to be found.
Had the Lord given me better eyesight
to see you even sharper.
Had the Lord given me longer arms
to hold you even closer.
Had the Lord given me also nobler heart
to love you even stronger.
Sigitas Geda
Translated by Veronika Janatjeva
Award:
3rd Prize of the Best Compositions of the Year 2011 Competition (Lithuanian Composers' Union)
Released recording:
CD Zoom in 9. - Vilnius: Lithuanian Music Information and Publishing Centre, LMIPCCD 070, 2012
