Passing

Composer: Martin Lohse Year: 2014/2015 Worknumber: W. 36.1c Category: Cat 2.8 (Chamber) Duration: 9.5 min
Instrumentation: 2 gtr
Arrangement for guitar duo of the solo accordion work, created in collaboration with the Copenhagen Guitar Duo - score not yet available

Performance Materials

    Other Versions

    Program Note

    Passing I
    •  Composed: 27 Feb 2014
    •  Duration: 4 min
    •  First performance: 6 Aug 2014 by Copenhagen Guitar Duo at the festival Femø Classic, Femø Church, Denmark

    Passing II
    •  Composed: 1 Dec 2014
    •  Duration: 5’15 min
    •  First performance: 2 Feb 2015 by Copenhagen Guitar Duo at Mestre på Mandage X, Royal Danish Academy of Music, Denmark

    In English

    Passing (2011-2014)
    Guitar duo

    Passing is an arrangement for guitar duo of the first two movements of Passing for solo accordion, created in close collaboration with the Copenhagen Guitar Duo (Allan Sjølin and Martin Buono).

    •  Passing I Allegro con passion sostenuto: Quickly repeating notes, small motifs, and fast patterns. It features different tempos occurring simultaneously between the instruments in 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.


    The two movements 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 2014

    In Danish

    Passing (2011-2014)
    Guitarduo

    Passing er et arrangement for guitarduo af de to første satser fra Passing for soloakkordeon, udarbejdet i tæt samarbejde med Copenhagen Guitar Duo (Allan Sjølin og Martin Buono).

    •  Passing I Allegro con passion sostenuto: Hurtigt gentagne toner, små motiver og hurtige mønstre. Satserne benytter forskellige tempi i 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.


    De to satser 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 2014

    Audio Archive

    • CD Recording (accordion) , Mobile
      CD/vinyl release with works for solo accordion dedicated to and performed by Bjarke Mogensen
      Release date: 11 Aug 2015 at Royal Danish Academy of Music
      Record label: Gateway Music
      Passing I Passing II

    Performances

    First Performance

    Femø Classic 2014
    Femø Church, Femø, Denmark
    Copenhagen Guitar Duo
    Wednesday 6 August 2014

    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 13 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 →
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