Description

“Basiliensis” was commissioned by Florian Cramer for a special occasion which is the performance of Strawinsky’s “Mass” on the 18th of May 2019 in Basel. It was his idea to combine that performance with a new instrumental composition that uses almost the same instrumentation (piano and percussion are added).
I found the idea quite challenging, but decided not to refer to the original composition by Strawinsky.
“Basiliensis” (the title is a kind of homage to the town of Basel, where the premiere will take place) is based on two elements: One is a self-quote from my “Kammermusik V” and the other is a long and rhythmically quite complex series of chords. Both elements are less developed in terms of linear developmental variations, but rather in “ceremonial blocks” referring to a “virtual ritual” that has to do with the performance of a “mass”.

Dieter Mack