Arch
- Percussion #1: 5-octave marimba, 1 wood block and 1 triangle
- Percussion #2: 4-octave marimba, 1 pair of claves and 1 triangle
- Percussion #3: vibraphone with motor, 1 pair of maracas and 1 triangle
- Duration: 10'
- 1
- Composed in 2024
- First performance: 07.02.25 Kawasaki, Assembly Room during the 37th Asia COmposers League Festival, Japan
- Parts: To rent the parts, please email <rc@robertcasteels.com>
-
Downloadable scores for inspection:
Robert Casteels wrote Arch opus 140 in 2024 following the premiere of his sixth symphony, an important composition in which the principle of the vault was central. Music unfolds in time from past to present to future. Likewise, a vault unfolds from left to right. The cornerstone of a vault is the mid-point of the composition, after which the preceding compositional elements reappear in exactly the reverse order. Within a sonic arch, motives reappear in retrograde. The structure of Arch consists in 18 small vaults within one large vault: some vaults are concave, other convex, others horizontal (that is: only their rhythms are retrogradable). A trio of performers also constitutes an arch-like unit in the way the composer distributes the music to the three players. The short poem by Megumi Okamoto constitutes the cornerstone of Arch. Okamoto is a reclusive Japanese poetess who pursues a creative a journey away from the limelight. Succinctness, sensitivity and metaphor characterize her style. As witnessed by his compositions In Praise of Sake on a poem by Ōtomo no Tabito and Kaze ni noru on a story by Miyazawa Kenji (opus 98 for orchestra in 2013), Casteels nourishes a deep respectful love for Japanese culture.