Kopernikus
(1978-79)2S,M,A,T,Bar,B
0.1.2.bcl.0-0.1.1.0-perc(played by singers):Balinese gong/3 japanese gongs/BD/t-tam(lg)/crot/ant.cyms/t.bells/Cardboard tubes/glsp
This work requires additional technological components and/or amplification.
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes (Hendon Music)
The main character is Agni; mystical beings borrowed from stories (represented by the other six singers) gravitate around her: Lewis Carroll, Merlin, a witch, the Queen of the Night, a blind prophet, an old monk, Tristan and Isolde, Mozart, the Master of the Waters, Copernicus and his mother. These characters could be Agni’s dreams that follow her during her initiation and finally into her dematerialization.
— Claude Vivier
Reproduction Rights:
This program note may be reproduced free of charge in concert programs with a credit to the composer.
“Close, mystical harmonies are tinged with microtonal dissonances that vibrate almost visibly. Waves of passion are cloaked in a shining, medieval purity — and a use of babbling invented languages — that feels otherworldly; the effect is simultaneously in and out of body.” —New York Times
Opera Factory Freiburg / Holst-Sinfonietta / Klaus Simon
bastille musique bm001