Passing

Composer: Martin Lohse Year: 2011-12 Worknumber: W. 36 Category: Cat 2.9 (Solo) Duration: 14 min
Soloist: Accordion (amplified) Instrumentation: acc
Original version for solo accordion, dedicated to Bjarke Mogensen
Score Preview

Click to preview score (with sound)

Performance Materials

Other Versions

Program Note

Passing I
•  Composed: 2 May 2011
•  Duration: 4 min
•  First performance: 27 Sep 2011 by Bjarke Mogensen at Louisiana Live – Museum of Modern Art, Louisiana – Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark

​

Passing II
•  Composed: 19 Dec 2011
•  Duration: 5’30 min
•  First performance: 7 Mar 2012 by Bjarke Mogensen at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen (Release and debut-concert with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra)

​

Passing III
•  Composed: 29 Nov 2012
•  Duration: 4 min
•  First performance: 28 Sep 2014 by Bjarke Mogensen at Ny Musik Birkerød, Birkerød, Denmark

​

In English

Passing (2011 – 2012)
Accordion

Passing is dedicated to Bjarke Mogensen and consists of three movements:

•  Passing I Allegro con passion sostenuto: Quickly repeating notes, small motifs, and fast patterns. It features different tempos in both hands within the same register, all within a simple sequence of three major thirds representing the work’s entire harmonic structure.
•  Passing II Andante con dolore sostenuto: A slow movement with a theme that gradually moves through different registers.
•  Passing III Moderato maestoso: A fast movement based on the same simple sequence as in Passing I.

​
The score is written in exact pitch; the proposed registrations may be adjusted according to the acoustic space and specific instrument. The three parts can be performed individually or as a suite.

Mobile
Mobile is a compositional technique where multiple layers of music with independent tempos, meters, and styles are integrated into a recurring chordal pattern. These chords modulate slowly through all keys, resulting in a harmonic language with minimal dissonance.

The technique synthesizes several methods developed across earlier works:

1.  Continuous Modulation: A repeating sequence of chords that modulates from start to finish, creating a state of constant motion. This was first utilized in Haiku (1999) and further developed in In Liquid… (violin and piano) (2003) and Image Balancantes (2004).
2.  Simultaneous Layers: The use of multiple independent musical layers, which has been a primary element of the music since 2000.
3.  Rhythm Across Harmony: A principle where independent motives are played in individual tempos against the rhythm of the underlying chords. This was first explored in Smoke (2000), refined in Liebestraum (Liszt arrangement from 2005) and 8 Momenti Mobile (2008), and reached its definitive form in Concerto in Tempi (2010).

​
Martin Lohse 2012

In Danish

Passing (2011 – 2012)
Akkordeon

Passing er tilegnet Bjarke Mogensen og består af tre satser:

•  Passing I Allegro con passion sostenuto: Hurtigt gentagne toner, små motiver og hurtige mønstre. Der benyttes forskellige tempi i begge hænder i det samme register, alt sammen i en simpel sekvens af tre store tertser, som udgør hele værkets harmonik.
•  Passing II Andante con dolore sostenuto: En langsom sats med et tema, der bevæger sig roligt gennem forskellige registre.
•  Passing III Moderato maestoso: En hurtig sats baseret på den samme simple sekvens som i Passing I.

​
Partituret er ikke transponerende; de foreslåede registreringer kan ændres alt efter rummet, instrumentet osv. De tre dele kan opføres individuelt eller som en suite.

Mobile
En teknik hvor forskellige lag af musik i hver deres tempo, metrik og musikalsk stil kombineres i et simpelt mønster af akkorder, som langsomt modulerer igennem alle tonearter i en uendelig sekvens, skabende en musik med ingen eller ganske få dissonanser.

Martin Lohse 2012

Audio Archive

Video Archive

Performances

First Performance

Louisiana Live
Louisiana - Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
Bjarke Mogensen
Tuesday 27 September 2011

Other Performances

Please note: This is not a complete list. It includes live performances and radio broadcasts across all versions of the work. While the archive is highly comprehensive for earlier years, recent entries show only a fraction of the 500-1.000 annual performances across the composer's complete catalog, reflecting only those events reported to and logged by the composer.

[+ ] Show remaining 50 performances

Reviews

Please note: This list includes reviews across all versions of the work.

  • LOHSE: Collage de Temps; 5 Momenti Mobile; Moto Immoto
    (Nathan Faro - American Record Guide Nov/Dec 2018)
    ... It takes considerable willpower not to rewind to the beginning when it finishes...
    ... Like the rest of Lohse’s works on the album, it is a delight.
    Read full review →
  • Classical Accordionist Hanzhi Wang Brings Darkly Dynamic New Nordic Compositions to Carnegie Hall
    (Delarue - NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY)
    ... Lohse’s triptych Passing begins with a similarly circling if almost marionettishly pulsing allegro section. The steady, moonlit waltz that follows is deliciously ominous; the concluding variation is 180 degrees the opposite until that same resonance is artfully interpolated amidst the starry, flitting optimism.
    Read full review →
  • Virtuosic example of the versatility of the accordion
    (Julie Lamoureux - Amazon.com)
    ... All I can say is "Wow!", and I hope this recording receives the wide exposure and accolades it deserves.
    Read full review →
  • On the Path to H.C. Andersen
    (ArkivMusic - ArkivMusic)
    ... Poignant reflection and tragic depiction infuse Martin Lohse’s ‘Menuetto’ and ‘Match Girl (accordion)’ (dedicated to Hanzhi Wang), while his post-minimalist ‘Passing’ series forms adventurous mobiles of dancing light...
    Read full review →
[+ ] Show remaining 7 reviews
  • On The Path to H.C. Andersen
    (Jerobear - Review Corner)
    We’re not often taken aback in the Review Corner (at least not in a good way) but such an event has occurred with this new programme of accordion music...
    ...The best recommendation is that we managed to write this down fairly quickly, being immediately taken with it, but have contained playing the CD since (and on and on). A delightful collection of music.
    Read full review →
  • On The Path to H.C. Andersen
    (David Denton - David's Review Corner)
    ...and my favourite, ..., is the technical excellence required for the three movements of Passing, her finger dexterity of prodigious virtuosity. The delicate colours that can be achieved from the instrument comes in the central part of Menuetto...
    Read full review →
  • MusicWeb International (2018)
    (Richard Hanlon - MusicWeb International)
    ... Lohse has given this (work) the lovely title Moto Immoto (Motionless motion), an apt oxymoron that utterly encapsulates this short, heartfelt piece...
    ... it certainly affected this reviewer in those terms - and easily bears repeated listening. It is revealing that this ten-minute panel lasts not a moment too long.
    Read full review →
  • Mogensen Lohse: Mobile, Works for Solo Accordion
    (Alessandro Mugnoz - Accordions Worldwide April 2018)
    ... Fresh music, contemporary but not excessively "intellectual" and not at all hermetic, indeed sincere and communicative, often captivating, which show strong roots with the great Western "classical" tradition; a happy combination, just like in Scarlatti, of lightness and playfulness with passion and solemnity.
    ... Music that surely reconciles the audience with contemporary "cultured" music and that undoubtedly enrichs the specific repertoire for the accordion.
    Read full review →
  • Myriader af detaljer og intense klange
    (Henrik Friis - Politiken, kultur)
    The mobiles are breathlessly intense as they alternate between mournful and optimistic with equal parts chain dance and black melancholy.
    Read full review →
  • Lykkeligt match
    (Mikael Krarup - mitFyn.dk)
    Lykkeligt match
    10 års samarbejde mellem Bjarke Mogensen og den danske komponist Martin Lohse har resulteret i en fin udgivelse med Lohses på én gang minimalistiske, melodiøse musik, som overraskende nok er moderne kompositionsmusik fra dette århundrede. Nogle er omskrevne tidligere værker, andre nykomponerede til Bjarke Mogensen. Lyst og venligt, men også indadvendt og mørkt, hans sans for udnyttelse af instrumentets trods alt begrænsede muligheder ligger i de ofte sindrigt udtænkte rytmiske lag, der som et "perpetuum mobile" udvikler sig og overrasker. Bjarke Mogensens suveræne spil gør oplevelsen stor, og ved flere aflytninger øges glæden. Cyklus-titler som "Passing" og "Momentum" synes velegnede og udtrykker sigende musikkens væsen, sammen med små menuetter eller de seks præludier, som er mere end blot forspil til noget andet.
    Read full review →
  • Politiken (11 Aug 2015)
    (Thomas Michelsen - Politiken, Kultur bagsiden)
    "This release will convert the skeptic to new classical music"
    "It may well be that you are not going to be religious, if you invest in this release from Gateway Music. On the other hand, there is some risk that you will be reversed and start listening to contemporary music."
    - translation from danish -
    Read full review →
Scroll to Top