Description

This composition is inspired by Monet’s late “Water Lilies” which was painted around 1920 in the garden of his estate in Giverny. The structure of the work follows the composition of the painting – it is divided into four sections: the reeds in the foreground – the pond – water lilies – the pond in the background.
In several paintings, Monet uses almost exclusively different shades of blue – this reduction corresponds to a serial melodic structure based on eight notes which, in its inscrutable austerity, is related to the lucid element in the work. The unseizable, fluid nature of water – transparency and mirroring – leads to a state of meditative ecstasy.
“Nymphéas” is part of a larger work entitled “Water Compositions” which Wulfin Lieske began with the oratorium “Above the Waters” which had its world premiere at the EXPO 2000 in Hannover, Germany, performed by the Hilliard Ensemble. This piece for solo guitar was written in 2003, commissioned by the Cologne City Water Works and was premiered in the historic “Faulturm” tower on March 22, 2003, performed by Wulfin Lieske himself.