Carlo Forlivesi. Compositions

To journey into these works is like taking a stroll in an imaginary, flourishing middle-age garden where a multitude of contained aromas blend together to surprise and prepare the beholder to refine his senses. Just as the host of unique species within create marvel, so one is struck by the eclecticism that is at the core of this collection, starting from the different textures of which the works are made. Exploring the CD we meet the four sections composing this hortus conclusus (“enclosed garden”). Similarly, the four classical elements – Air, Earth, Fire and Water – form Elements: from a rich three-dimensional electronic sound, featuring a skillful use of dynamic ranges, to the transparent atmospheres trespassing Through the LookingGlass. On the other side we can enjoy in Spem in Alium the essentiality of two solo voices, and the crystalline seductive counterpoint of Audivi Vocem; here the pace, wisely constructed over a 7/8, gives a sense of serenity, slowly making haste even beyond its arcane harmonies. 3 Even more instrumental combinations unfold in this collection of works: the Two Ornaments for chamber orchestra, Webernian to some extent, show substantive gestures mixed with ingenious timbrical solutions. Rosenleben II with its tempus tacendi: a time for silence, where the trio of clarinet, alto and piano creates suspended moments senza tempo — and yet meticulously calculated and notated in the score — bringing intimacy and expressionism to coexist. La Pointe à la Droite du Coeur for piano overthrows mystic atmospheres by imposing powerful, incisive gestures, transcending historical expectations. The notion of the traditional instrumental sound undergoes a radical change in Forlivesi’s music thanks to instruments like shakuhachi, koto and biwa; instrumental sounds he came to know in his musical research in Japan that stay alive and present in his works as composer. This relationship with another classic traditional culture, one so remote from the European, infuses Forlivesi’s works in ways beyond pure literary inspiration, however aware and conscious of it he may be, and they become rich with technical and expressive devices. The change of perspective is not only geographic, towards the East, but also temporal: the epoch of the author does not discourage Forlivesi from delving into the past to reinterpret three works (Ave Maris Stella, Stella Splendens, The Unanswered Question). These arrangements, the forms of the vocal pieces and the quotations contained in Elements (The Creation by Haydn, the Goldberg Variations by Bach), give measure of the knowledge and awareness that Forlivesi possesses towards music of the past. Vivid, multi-faceted thoughts lie underneath this music and reflect Forlivesi’s attitude towards life: deeply curious, inspired to research, tireless traveller and cosmopolitan soul (just note the six different languages in which the compositions are titled). Like a secret garden, protected by the steep walls of composite elegance, this CD offers a space for regeneration and reflection on the essence of contemporary music at present: a space apart and beyond any kind of mannerism, and thus even more significant and precious.