Stephen Leek - At Times, Stillness... (1986)

Abstract

"The score of At times, Stillness ... took shape in one of the most picturesque, serene and undisturbed areas of Tasmania, the township of St Helens. Viewed at dawn, the true beauty and serenity of St Helens can be fully appreciated. The innocent undulating hills of natural bush in harmony with rich pasture-land tumble silently into the misty tranquillity of the glassy waters of George's Bay. Before embarking upon an extensive lecture-recital tour of Australia, the US organist Ralph Morton approached me about the composition of a relatively short and simple work which could be inserted into a program between two larger workc, for pipe organ. The piece was intended to allow the audience a brief respite from the complexity and density of the other works. It was also designed to exploit the individual characteristic of the various organs which were to be encountered on the tour. To introduce the subtle sonorities of the instrument and the acoustic environment, At times, Stillness .. opens with a single line which appears to descend effortlessly from the uppermost vaults of a Jarge cathedral. To give the impression of a single line which changes in colour and timbre, the technique of Klangfarbenmelodie has been extensively employed. The performer must play relatively simple lines across many manuals, each being set to a slightly different registration, thereby giving·the effect of a changing colour. A short upward motive introduces a second idea and establishes the episodic nature of the early part of the work. Here ideas are presented, some immediately forgotten, whilst others are pursued and developed to constitute the main body of the work. Two ideas are isolated especially for this purpose. The first, initially presented as a slowly climbing arpeggio, appears to emerge from the depths of the large, resonant tubes (see Figure 26). The second short idea to be retained for future development is that of a single repeated note which is first heard in the organ's lowest pitch range, performed on the pedals (see Figure 27). After the early stages of the work, a process of development is set in motion through the isolation of a smaller fragment of the arpeggio figure (see Figure 28), which is then presented in a series of permutations which builds in slow sustained chords. A number of variations on this simple idea is presented through a succession of rather static anticlimaxes. Contrapuntal treatment of the idea follows, leading to the only major climax of the work (see Figure 29). A return to the simple arpeggio figure incorporates further use of the Klangfarbenmelodie technique. The work is brought to a gentle close with the subtle use of the repeated note figure which appears to emerge through the sustained clusters on another registration (see Figure 30). Several aspects of the piece are left entirely to the discretion of the performer in order that full use may be made of special registrations and features of the instrument upon which it is performed. The registration, for instance, is left to the skill and inventiveness of the performer: the composer provides only verbal suggestions such as 'meditative' or 'simple'. The player must then interpret the instructions within the context of the piece, thereby actively contributing to the work. Some durations are also left to the discretion of the performer in order to accommodate the peculianties of the acoustical environment of each performance." -- Stephen Leek