Sestetto

With its distinctive combination of flute, harp, and strings, the sound palette of Sestetto, which Theo Verbey wrote in 1998, seems decidedly French. However, the composer was undoubtedly aware of that fact, and he made an effort in the course of the work’s four movements to counterbalance this aura.

Nevertheless, the first movement offers plenty of reminiscences of the world of Ravel, Françaix, Jolivet, and Roussel. The flute—which plays a leading role throughout the work—unfolds an ever-varied descending phrase against a background of harp notes traveling up and down and supported by chords in the string quartet. Verbey’s fondness for structures based on numbers is clearly audible here because every time there is a change in harmony, the meter also changes. The second theme, which enters after a brief interlude, is light-hearted and dance-like. This is followed by a quasi-recapitulation in which the chords, propelled by the strings, change much faster, culminating in a climax. The coda consists of a brief return of the second theme, followed by a soothing conclusion in the major.

In the second movement, “Tempo di tango,” Verbey refers, as indicated in the title, to the Argentinian dance with its characteristic rhythms. While mixing together his spicy harmonies, Verbey surely had the great bandoneon player and composer Astor Piazzolla in mind. Incisive, bowed tutti passages contrast with solos in the flute accompanied by scurrying pizzicato notes. In the recapitulation, the violin is—for the first time—allowed a role in the foreground. After an enchanting vista in the form of a duet for flute and harp, this movement concludes with a few firm tango gestures.

The “Adagio,” which is also the shortest movement, is described by the composer as a “passacagliaone,” a piece based on a continually repeated bass line. Although this musical form originated in Spain, it owes its renown primarily to German baroque composers such as Buxtehude and Bach. Here, the central bass line is rapidly entwined in a tapestry of counterpoint, played solely by the harp. A night music of harmonics drifts past, and tentative accents in the strings provide the impetus for an increasingly tempestuous flute solo that leads to a whirlwind climax, after which the harp returns to the starting point.

Verbey attributed a notably “North American” character to the final movement, which undoubtedly relates to the many off-beat rhythms. The opening is decidedly sunny, with a pleasant flute melody and rippling accompaniment. This gives way rather abruptly to a polyphonic network of snappy motifs in the strings, which enter rapidly, tumbling over each other. Then the first theme returns, accompanied by equally curt accents from the strings. Once the energy has ebbed away, a development follows in which the different elements are fitted together and varied as in a mosaic. Verbey uses this increasingly exciting interchange to mislead the listener to such an extent that the ending comes as a complete surprise.

© Frits van der Waa
translated from the Dutch by © Eileen J. Stevens

Matangi Quartet
Maria-Paula Majoor violin
Daniel Torrico violin
Karsten Kleijer viola
Arno van der Vuurst cello

Felicia van den End flute
Sabien Canton harp