Description
“Terasi” is the Indonesian term for a very unique spice, which is a fermented crab paste.
Its smell in natural and in fried form is very uncomfortable if not thoroughly disgusting.
Yet, as a balanced ingredience in special spicy dishes it converts to an essential element
where its original character has been transformed into a new delicious taste, so typical
for Indonesia and especially Bali.
I chose that term quite spontaneously after I received the commission to write that piece
as part of the opening concert in 2010 of the annual Brahms-Festival of the University
of Music in Lübeck. I chose that term because all of a sudden I had the idea of a music,
partly consisting of very “unpleasant” elements that in a peculiar context become an
essential and convenient part of the whole – similar to the above mentioned spice and
its usage.
The whole atmosphere of the composition is a dark and murky one. The image of
something quite viscously floating, accompanied by various “comments” or accidental
occurrences became the basic vision of the music. Therefore I got back to a cantus
firmus-like idea which in this case is more represented by a certain rhythmic line and
various “dark” instrumentations, first by a doublebass with contrabassoon, then by
doublebass, bassflute and clarinet and later by mainly the violoncellos. These three
phases are put into a certain framework becoming the formal pillars of the music.
