Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

Poetry

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Ludwig van Beethoven composed the seven movements of his String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131 (1826) (approx. 35-42’), to be played together in sequence, without significant pause between the movements. “Set in seven movements which flow together in a continuous musical stream, the Op. 131 Quartet turns the traditional string quartet form on its head.” “With . . . typically, the longest duration of any of his quartets, Op. 131 would seem to be Beethoven's most expansive utterance. All seven movements are played without pause creating a single giant continuous structure embracing an initial somber but lyrical fugue, two vibrant scherzi, a colossal theme and variations, connective recitative, a wisp of heartbreaking adagio and a dazzling finale cresting in mountainous developments alongside the most delicate, visceral, effervescent and tensile textures imaginable.” In addition and perhaps more important, “for the first time in Beethoven’s music there is as emphatic and unmistakable thematic connection between the first movement and the last, not a reminiscence, but a functional parallel which helps bind the whole work together.” Top recorded performances are by Busch Quartet in 1936, Budapest String Quartet in 1961 ***, Amadeus Quartet in 1963, Quartetto Italiano in 1969, Alban Berg Quartet in 1981, Takács Quartet in 2005, Jasper String Quartet in 2013, Dover Quartet in 2022, and Arianna String Quartet in 2023.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quintets:

• No. 1 in B-flat Major, K 174 (1773) (approx. 24’);
• No. 2 in C Minor, K 406 (1787) (approx. 20-23’);
• No. 3 in C Major, K 515 (1787) (approx. 27-31’);
• No. 4 in G Minor, K 516 (1787) (approx. 32-34’);
• No. 5 in D Major, K 593 (1790) (approx. 24-28’);
• No. 6 in E-flat Major, K 614 (1791) (approx. 22’). 

Other compositions:

• Henri Dutilleux, Trois Préludes (1973/1988) (approx. 15’): “. . . distilling innovations from the post-war era and a notable instance of Duilleux’s ability to harness nominally disparate items into a unified conception.”
• György Ligeti, String Quartet No. 2 (1968) (approx. 20-21’): “In order to display the process of change, Ligeti’s music presupposes an imaginary axis designating relationships of opposition. The extreme ends of this axis represent states of simplicity and complexity.” “In this piece, a unifying theme persists throughout all five movements. However, this theme is not a melody or a leitmotif as an earlier composer might have used to bind a work together. Rather, it is a commitment to an idea of texture: several instruments are engaged in a single texture, wherein they sometimes meld together almost into unanimity, and at other times drift apart and become more distinct from one another, but never lose their textural similarity.”

Albums:

• Doug Carn, “Adam’s Apple” (1974) (44’): soulful spirituality from an African-American perspective at a remarkably unique time in U.S. history
• Firasso, “Tales” (2021) (49’): “The group unites a classical clarinetist, an accordion player specialised in ‘new music’ and a jazz double bassist.  Together, they fuse a post-genre mix of music which draws on the musical vocabulary of tango, klezmer, Balkan music and French musette.” This is a musical version of e pluribus, unum – from many, one.
• Grosse Isle, “Le bonhomme sept heures / The Bonesetter” (2021) (48’): Grosse Isle is an island in the St. Lawrence river in Québec, which served as a refuge for people escaping the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. The album brings together music from Québec and Ireland, as happened when these two cultures intermingled in Canada in the 19th century.
• Roxana Amed, “Unánime” (2022) (58’): “‘Beyond the common translation of ‘unanimous,’ to me, Unánime means one soul, one voice, one heart,’ Roxana explains. ‘All the different guests on this album, although coming from different countries, are still united in the love for North American Jazz. And there is also this ‘Latin sound’ blending with that other tradition, no matter from where we come.'”
• Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto, “Instant” (2022) (43’): “Ablaye Cissoko enjoys collaborating with musicians from other genres and traditions. This time, he combines the ancient griot traditions of West Africa’s kora with French folk music through the sounds of the diatonic accordion.” Cissoko says: “I am open and attentive to music and other musicians from all over the world. That is where I find stability and inspiration for my own music. My duo project with Cyrille embodies two histories, two cultures, two horizons and two landscapes. While playing I visualise Cyrille in his mountains and me with my large Mande family on the Atlantic coast of Saint-Louis in Senegal. It soothes me.” Equally compelling is their album “Djiyo” (2025) (44’): “With a human message, and with human-presented themes about relationships and recognitions, desires for freedom, Ablaye and Cyrill delve into eternal themes, musically introducing the listener to the world of the sweet tones of the instruments they play and the atmosphere they create all the time.”
• Anat Cohen, “Quartetinho” (2022) (57’): “rhapsodic interplay” among the members of the “little quartet” set the album’s character.
• Anders Jormin, “Pasado en claro” (2023) (58’): “Jazz, classical, and folk music genres are blended beautifully by Swedish double bassist Anders Jormin with Lena Willemark on vocals and violin, Karin Nakagawa on 25-string koto, and Jon Fält on drums and percussion. These pieces are graceful and imaginative and move through a rainbow of moods, from yearning to ecstatic.”
• The Michael Bank Septet, “The Dao of Swing” (2013) (41’): “The title . . . might be read on the surface as ‘The Way To Swing,’  but it suggests something more profound: that happy unity when the musicians connect with the deeper rhythms of the universe.  An ambitious aspiration, but Michael Bank’s Septet makes it come alive.”

Music: songs and other short pieces

• Brotherhood of Man, “United We Stand” (lyrics)
• U2, “One” (lyrics)

Visual Arts

Film and Stage