Light and shadow (organ four hands)

Light and Shadow

for organ (four hands)

by Andres Uibo

"One day says it to the other, and one night makes it known to the other; without language and without words, its voice is inaudible."  Psalm 19:3-4

This piece for organ four-hands can be more or less divided into four sections. The sections framing the work are dominated by a six-tone modal row (Locrian or Hypophrygian) whereby the sonic image is repeated in ever higher registers. A static sonic background made up of the tones d  and a form a contrast to this. The third section can be designated as a culmination; here all the motifs we have heard so far interweave to form a polyphonic texture. The piece ends as it began, with an ascending scale; its background is again formed by the sustained interval comprising the tones d  and a, with only the d  remaining at the very end.

The static harmonies represent light, which, according to Uibo, are pursued by shadow (ascending scales). During the culmination section, the light partially drives away the shadow, but the latter makes a comeback in the final section.

In this work we also sometimes find elements from the "Apocalypse Symphony" (eres 2856),  also by Andres Uibo; here, however, these elements are developed in a minimalist manner, and are thereby intended to represent the interplay of "light and shadow."

Gerhard Lock
Translation David Babcock

Music from Estonia
Estonian organ music
Music sheets by Andres Uibo

ISMN 979-0-2024-2878-8