for Orchestra
The first version of the piece was composed in 2005. A first revision made in 2009 resulted in a shorter (and lighter in terms of instrumentation) version, which was performed by the City of Thessaloniki Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alkis Baltas. The current third version was made in May 2014 and its instrumentation is that of the original.
The title of the piece comes from the homonymous chapter of a novel titled "The Street of Crocodiles" by the Polish Jewish writer Bruno Schulz. The book is also known under the title "The Cinnamon Stores". In this chapter and section of the book, the father of the hero, a strange persona of the father of the author, improvises a witty narration about the dressmaking dummies that are used by some female dressmakers working in his house, in order to attract their interest. His speech, gradually becoming almost delusional, results in a treatise on mannequins, a kind of hymn to the magnificent pettiness of matter and form. His improvisational delirium leads him to the vision of a generation of strange humble beings, which is the result of some fantastic fermentations, a generatio aequivoca (a dubious generation). The author through the original maturity of his perpetual youthfulness, sets a miraculous microcosm, where the miracle can possibly be hidden in some forgotten corner of the courtyard, or in a frazzle of the wallpaper of an old room. These very little miracles are being negotiated in this musical work, too.
The composition is in four movements. The first and the second are played without interruption.
Image: "Mannequins" by tanakawho
Treatise on Mannequins
Part I. Mannequins - attacca (1:12):
Part II. Treatise
The first version of the piece was composed in 2005. A first revision made in 2009 resulted in a shorter (and lighter in terms of instrumentation) version, which was performed by the City of Thessaloniki Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alkis Baltas. The current third version was made in May 2014 and its instrumentation is that of the original.
The title of the piece comes from the homonymous chapter of a novel titled "The Street of Crocodiles" by the Polish Jewish writer Bruno Schulz. The book is also known under the title "The Cinnamon Stores". In this chapter and section of the book, the father of the hero, a strange persona of the father of the author, improvises a witty narration about the dressmaking dummies that are used by some female dressmakers working in his house, in order to attract their interest. His speech, gradually becoming almost delusional, results in a treatise on mannequins, a kind of hymn to the magnificent pettiness of matter and form. His improvisational delirium leads him to the vision of a generation of strange humble beings, which is the result of some fantastic fermentations, a generatio aequivoca (a dubious generation). The author through the original maturity of his perpetual youthfulness, sets a miraculous microcosm, where the miracle can possibly be hidden in some forgotten corner of the courtyard, or in a frazzle of the wallpaper of an old room. These very little miracles are being negotiated in this musical work, too.
The composition is in four movements. The first and the second are played without interruption.
Image: "Mannequins" by tanakawho
Treatise on Mannequins
Part I. Mannequins - attacca (1:12):
Part II. Treatise
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