Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet

To celebrate the 100th year of the theremin, the Belgian composer Laurent Beeckmans proposed two original works involving the instrument. Scored for theremin, oboe, string quartet and piano (the same setting of the well known Fantasy by Bohuslav Martinu), « Hymne » was premiered by the Alba septet in August 2018 at the Festival de Musique Classique d’Uzerche (France).

Hymne is a monothematic work in the form of variations of a simple melodic line, which itself is made of the repetition and combination of smaller melodic cells. This melody, always performed by the theremin, undergoes slight but constant metamorphoses and evolves in seven sections, each of them characterized by a distinct accompaniment texture. These textures were intentionally sparse and the general mood is meditative and contemplative, as the work was intended to be heard in the reverberant acoustic of a large 12th century roman church.

The sections can be briefly described as follows: 
[1] - 0:00 theremin alone over low bass notes of the piano ;
[2] - 0:51 gentle caressing and wavy support from the strings ;
[3] - 1:35 melody echoed by Messiaen-like piano chords ; this section is linked to the next by a solo oboe cadenza (2:36) ;
[4] - 4:03 swirling waves from the strings punctuating the melody ; a second cadenza for the violin (5:19) leads to :
[5] - 6:43 vigorous rhythmic and canonic texture by the string quartet ending abruptly and introducing :
[6] - 7:45 climax of the work, a massive and monorythmic choral answered by the swirling waves played now by the piano ;
[7] - 8:40 the final ebb where all the previous sections are briefly recalled in reverse order, leaving the theremin alone to conclude the work.

The other composition, « Waves » will be featured on the « Theremin 100 » album (https://www.nythereminsociety.org/the...) which will be released in December 2019.

Theremin: Grégoire Blanc
Oboe: Anne Willem
1st Violin: Floris Willem
2nd Violin: Serge Willem
Viola: Sophie Ackermann
Cello: Nicolas Deletaille
Piano: Laurent Beeckmans

Score available at Geyser Music Editions
https://www.geysermusic.be/GME0050.htm