Listen to Riccardo Bonci performing Continuum on 14th October 2006 at St John the Evangelist, Islington

Continuum (2005)

Continuum was written following a concert improvisation given by the composer at Yale University in December 2003. It is dedicated to the Canadian organist, Maxine Thévenot, who encouraged its composition after hearing this improvisation, and was premiered by her at Notre Dame (Paris) in July 2005. There are two published editions of the piece; one with bar-lines and one without, allowing performers the freedom to choose whichever they feel more comfortable with. The music is based on a rapid oscillating pattern between two manuals, whilst the pre-determined pitches on the name N-O-T-R-E-D-A-M-E are heard in the pedal. The registration on the two manuals should be very similar and could be at either 8’ or 4’ pitch. The pedal pitch is suggested at 4’. If the use of gentle tremulants assists in allowing for a warmer tonal collage then this is encouraged. The use of an antiphonal or gallery division can also be highly effective, either for the manual or the pedal registration. The piece should never be more than mezzo piano. The registration can be changed during the course of the work very gradually by judicious use of the swell boxes and addition of subtle foundations or celestes. However, there should be no sudden change. The overall performance time will vary from one performance to another, but should not be longer than 8 minutes. The duration of each chord oscillation is entirely at the performer’s discretion and is to be determined by a combination of the tonal palette of the instrument, the acoustics of the room and the performer’s own response to the harmonies. The only prerequisite is that the manual and pedal notes occur in the exact order they are in the score. As such, each performance will be truly unique to each performer.

Duration: 5 minutes
Available from: the composer/Clarion Press. Buy online here
Price: £4.50