(“small treatise of love and geometry”)
For flute, clarinet, tenor sax (or euphonium ad lib.), violin & cello – 2003, ca. 14’
Billaudot publisher, score in sell: GB 7584 O
Premiere: 18 October 2003, Ensemble Modern, Festival Positionen, Bockenheimer Depot, Frankfurt.
Erratum and advise for the rehearsals
Program note:
This piece was commissioned by the BHF-Bank Fund for Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt.
“Risâla fî-l-hob wa fî ‘ilm al-handasa” is Arabic for “small treatise on love and geometry”. The titles of each movement evoke techniques of ornamentation in Islamic art.
The Muqarnas are geometric figures used in Arabic architecture to negotiate the transitions between rounded surfaces and flat decorations. They generally take the form of rich and complex decorations, imitating caves and stalactites on the ceilings of palaces or mosques. Examples of Muqarnas can be seen at the Alhambra in Granada or at the Capella Palatina in Palermo.
Murassa’ means enameled, bejeweled, sequined.