Miranda Cuckson - Világ (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

I’m very happy to share my new double-album Világ featuring the Sonata for solo violin by Béla Bartók along with compositions written for me by Aida Shirazi and Stewart Goodyear and works by Manfred Stahnke and Franco Donatoni.

“Világ” is a Hungarian word meaning “world” or “illumination”. It also resembles the word “village” in English. In Sanskrit, “vilag” means “to cling to”; in Hindi, “separated”.

A celebrated artist of the 20th century, Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945) is known for documenting the folk music of Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and other countries of that region, and for his brilliant synthesis of elements of that music in his exquisitely constructed, passionately expressive compositions.

His Sonata for solo violin (1944), composed for Yehudi Menuhin, is one of his last pieces. Dense with notes and technical challenges for the player, it’s been increasingly embraced by violinists and listeners. The four movements evoke essential forms from the Sonatas and Partitas for violin by Johann Sebastian Bach: chaconne, fugue, slow aria (the Largo from Bach’s C major Sonata comes to mind), and fast presto. Like Bach’s pieces, Bartók’s Sonata features inspiring large-scale ambition, athletic virtuosity, and a down-to-earth connection to rambunctious folk dances and catchy rhythms and melodies.

I first learned the Bartók Sonata when I was a college student. Returning to it these days, I’m most struck and delighted by its undulating phrases and by its buoyancy and playfulness on the one hand and melancholy on the other. I enjoy the Tempo di ciaconna’s sweeping sarabande lilt and the lively conversations with the theme amid the intensity of the Fugue. The Melodia, to me, suggests solitude and tranquility, like a lone figure who is getting solace from nature. Then comes the sound of buzzing insects in the Presto (Bartók was an avid collector of bugs), which brings us back to the village and the hearty dancing.

TRACKLIST

1. Miranda Cuckson - Sonata for solo violin, Sz. 117, BB 124: I. Tempo di ciaccona
2. Miranda Cuckson - Sonata for solo violin, Sz. 117, BB 124: II. Fuga. Risoluto, non troppo vivo
3. Miranda Cuckson - Sonata for solo violin, Sz. 117, BB 124: III. Melodia. Adagio
4. Miranda Cuckson - Sonata for solo violin, Sz. 117, BB 124: IV. Presto.
5. Miranda Cuckson - Sāniyā: I. free, light, dreamy, like the spring breeze
6. Miranda Cuckson - Sāniyā: Intermezzo. Intermezzo. yearning
7. Miranda Cuckson - Sāniyā: II. with an urge to express something but sounding unsure and stammering
8. Miranda Cuckson - Sāniyā: Intermezzo. bolder than before, moving forward, becoming more extrovert
9. Miranda Cuckson - Sāniyā: III. restless, dark, shadowy
10. Miranda Cuckson - Sāniyā: Intermezzo. free and light-weight like the beginning of the piece but a little darker
11. Miranda Cuckson - Sāniyā: IV. meditative, still, sensitive, gradually sounding more fragile
12. Miranda Cuckson - Solo - A Suite for Solo Violin: I. Waltz
13. Miranda Cuckson - Solo - A Suite for Solo Violin: II. Chant
14. Miranda Cuckson - Solo - A Suite for Solo Violin: III. Prelude
15. Miranda Cuckson - Solo - A Suite for Solo Violin: IV. Dance
16. Miranda Cuckson - Solo - A Suite for Solo Violin: V. Elegy
17. Miranda Cuckson - Capra 4: I. Reine Terzen und Sexten
18. Miranda Cuckson - Capra 4: II. Reine Quarten und Quinten - und Sekunden 9/8
19. Miranda Cuckson - Capra 4: III. Reine kleine Septen 7/4 und Quarten
20. Miranda Cuckson - Capra 4: IV. Oktaven und 8/7 Sekunden
21. Miranda Cuckson - Capra 4: V. 11/10 Sekunden und Quinten: Semantic Signalling (Tepehua, Mittelamerika)
22. Miranda Cuckson - Capra 4: VI. Quarten 21/16, selten Sekunden 8/7 und Sexten 12/7
23. Miranda Cuckson - Capra 4: VII. Naturtonreihen
24. Miranda Cuckson - Argot - due pezzi per violino: I.
25. Miranda Cuckson - Argot - due pezzi per violino: II.



Thanks to the Original customer.