Drei fabelhafte Freundschaften
for cello, clarinet, trombone, percussion, and piano
den Freunden von Hans Werner Henze
1. Die Wölfe im Flötenklang
2. Die Tauben vor der Dämmerung
3. Die Schweine unter Freunden
Program notes
The German fabelhaft carries two meanings at once: “fabulous” and “like a fable.” Each piece unfolds as a small musical parable, reflecting a different shape friendship can take.
The instrumentation — cello, clarinet, trombone, percussion, and piano — recalls Hans Werner Henze’s Amicizia!. Fragments of memory pass through the music: a contour, a harmonic gesture, a percussion color briefly borrowed and transformed. These are not quotations so much as affectionate echoes of a composer whose belief that music is made among friends shaped the spirit of the Cantiere itself.
In Die Wölfe im Flötenklang (The Wolves in the Flute’s Voice), sound emerges from near-silence: low piano clusters, distant crotales give way to a percussion melody, and finally the other instruments add their howling accompaniment. The music listens as much as it speaks — a cautious, searching friendship.
Die Tauben vor dem Morgengrauen (The Doves Before Daybreak) begins with the piano alone, blurred and unaccented. Gradually the ensemble gathers around it: cello, muted trombone, vibraphone. The music presses forward with restrained intensity, discovering intimacy in shared quiet.
In Die Schweine unter Freunden (The Pigs Among Friends), breath-noises and brushed percussion give way to a stubborn ostinato and an exuberant dance marked The tempo of spring. The music stumbles, surges, and laughs at itself before dissolving again into wind and breath.
Three fables, three musical reflections on friendship, in conversation with Henze’s Amicizia!.