Friedrich Cerha
Like a Tragicomedy
Short instrumentation: 3 2 3 3 - 4 4 4 1 - timp, perc(4), hp, alto sax(Eb), mand, str
Duration: 20'
Instrumentation details:
piccolo
1st flute
2nd flute
1st oboe
2nd oboe
1st clarinet in A
2nd clarinet in A
bass clarinet in Bb
alto saxophone in Eb
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
contrabassoon
1st horn in F
2nd horn in F
3rd horn in F
4th horn in F
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
3rd trumpet in C
4th trumpet in C
1st trombone
2nd trombone
3rd trombone
4th trombone
bass tuba
timpani
1st percussion
2nd percussion
3rd percussion
4th percussion
harp
mandolin
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
contrabass
Cerha - Like a Tragicomedy for large orchestra
Translation, reprints and more
Friedrich Cerha
Cerha: Wie eine TragikomödieOrchestration: für großes Orchester
Type: Studienpartitur (Sonderanfertigung)
Sample pages
Audio preview
Work introduction
The term “tragicomedy” in the title
refers to the way in which all our conflicts, all our contradictions, all the
drama and meaning in our lives become almost comic when observed from a
distance. As Thomas Berhard put it, “when one thinks of death, everything
becomes absurd”. I was inspired to the use of the [German] word “Wie” [“as”] in
the title by the work of my friend, the painter Max Weiler, who often gives his
pictures titles beginning with "Wie ...", as for example in his work
“Wie eine Landschaft" [Like a Landscape]. It is an indication that the
work is symbolic and not programmatic.
In this piece, dramatic scenes
alternate with melancholy quieter sections, in which (although this is already
interpretation) the measured repetition of tonal phrases points us towards
infinity. The finale opens out into what for us lowly mortals appears to be a
state of timelessness, in which further change is barely possible.
Friedrich Cerha