Page 287 - Vinkler, Jonatan, in Jernej Weiss. ur. 2014. Musica et Artes: ob osemdesetletnici Primoža Kureta. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem.
P. 287
ms of musical architecture in polish contemporary music
Geometrical Inspirations as Patterns
of the Musical Composer’s Language
Spacious ways of Panufnik’s musical thinking emerge in principal all the pha-
ses and periods of his artistic activity, not only compositions of 1970. which are
called geometric. It becomes a crucial feature of his output. In his Impulse and
Design in my music composer underlines the meaning of the two basic elements
of his artistic process: impulse which evokes the work and brings it to life and
design which is a formal fundamental rule of its construction. Undoubtedly
one of the most important manifestation of his spacious meaning is a 3-note
cell basis for melodic and harmonic constructions of his late style. Author of
Sinfonia di Sfere speaks about his vision of music in a space language:
I was looking for a new dimension in my musical language and its directive rules be-
cause I felt that somewhere in the depth of my imagination something unknown so
far and disparate is hidden, something which can be a source of the fresh creative in-
vention.16
Two symphonies: Sinfonia di Sfere and Sinfonia Mistica outlines an in-
teresting passage between inspiration of space of nature, shapes of surroun-
ding world and enter to the abstract space, compiled with blocks of sounds
and compositional lines as well as space which is imagined and mystic in its
essence. Together with Metasinfonia (according with composer’s words) they
tend to fully penetrate possibilities of musical construction formed around
some geometric core17. Composer mentioned that geometric shapes influen-
ced his imagination with a hypnotic power – secret drawings on pre-Colum-
bian ceramics, striking forms existing in nature, ideal pentagon of a five-petal
rose, logarithmic spiral in the middle of the sunflower construction, rainbow,
parabola of waterfalls, hexagon of a snow flake…
I felt that geometric shapes could provide my compositions with an invisible skeleton
bringing my harmonic, melodic and rhythmic ideas together into one, create and or-
ganize musical structure.18
Symphonic Concept of Surface, Plans and Blocks
- Sinfonia di Sfere
Sinfonia di Sfere is a kind of study of geometrical contemplation of sound
construction. Composer expressed it as a reference to the structure of an-
16 Panufnik, op. cit., 323.
17 Panufnik, op. cit., 341.
18 Panufnik, op. cit., 341.
285
Geometrical Inspirations as Patterns
of the Musical Composer’s Language
Spacious ways of Panufnik’s musical thinking emerge in principal all the pha-
ses and periods of his artistic activity, not only compositions of 1970. which are
called geometric. It becomes a crucial feature of his output. In his Impulse and
Design in my music composer underlines the meaning of the two basic elements
of his artistic process: impulse which evokes the work and brings it to life and
design which is a formal fundamental rule of its construction. Undoubtedly
one of the most important manifestation of his spacious meaning is a 3-note
cell basis for melodic and harmonic constructions of his late style. Author of
Sinfonia di Sfere speaks about his vision of music in a space language:
I was looking for a new dimension in my musical language and its directive rules be-
cause I felt that somewhere in the depth of my imagination something unknown so
far and disparate is hidden, something which can be a source of the fresh creative in-
vention.16
Two symphonies: Sinfonia di Sfere and Sinfonia Mistica outlines an in-
teresting passage between inspiration of space of nature, shapes of surroun-
ding world and enter to the abstract space, compiled with blocks of sounds
and compositional lines as well as space which is imagined and mystic in its
essence. Together with Metasinfonia (according with composer’s words) they
tend to fully penetrate possibilities of musical construction formed around
some geometric core17. Composer mentioned that geometric shapes influen-
ced his imagination with a hypnotic power – secret drawings on pre-Colum-
bian ceramics, striking forms existing in nature, ideal pentagon of a five-petal
rose, logarithmic spiral in the middle of the sunflower construction, rainbow,
parabola of waterfalls, hexagon of a snow flake…
I felt that geometric shapes could provide my compositions with an invisible skeleton
bringing my harmonic, melodic and rhythmic ideas together into one, create and or-
ganize musical structure.18
Symphonic Concept of Surface, Plans and Blocks
- Sinfonia di Sfere
Sinfonia di Sfere is a kind of study of geometrical contemplation of sound
construction. Composer expressed it as a reference to the structure of an-
16 Panufnik, op. cit., 323.
17 Panufnik, op. cit., 341.
18 Panufnik, op. cit., 341.
285
