Kryo
by Harri Vuori
for piano
Description
Some time ago, Harri Vuori and his friend Esko Sarkkinen, decided on an exchange: a composition for a painting. Vuori’s work was to be 30 seconds long; the painting was to contain 30 brush strokes; snow was agreed as the common theme. Both works were actually completed, but their demensions far exceeded what had been agreed on. Harri Vuori’s contribution had grown from 30 seconds to a 4-part, sonata-like piano composition called Kryo (from the Greek word for cold, frost = kryos). Snow is in many respects a rewarding motif for a musician as well as an artist. While almost automatically charged from a poetic and esthetic perspective, it also satisfies the more logically inclined with its pure, crystalline structure. Harri Vuori too has felt at home in this many-faceted landscape. As Lauri Otonkoski (the well-known Finnish poet and music critic) has pointed out, in Kryo Vuori treads a fine line between the “Germanically” strict and the rich colours of the “French” style. These two approaches, often viewed as extreme opposites, easily convert one into the other; and used together, they produce striking results. But we should bear in mind that the “German” and “French” elements are only metaphoric aids. In actual fact, the voice we hear is the composer’s, and the background decidedly Finnish. Kryo is condensed but lucid piano music. In its four movements it travels through different aspects of the same “icy” harmony. The first movement is very dense yet flows at a leisurely pace; the second movement is lighter. The relatively rapid third movement reaches peaks of furious expression, balanced by the extreme hush of the quietly sparkling last movement.
© Jouni Kaipainen
(Edition Love)
(translated by © Ira Donner)
Instrumentation pno
Instrument codes
Abbreviation | Instrument |
Woodwind | |
acl | alto clarinet |
afl | alto flute |
arec | alto recorder |
asax | alto saxophone |
barsax | baritone saxophone |
barhn | baritone horn |
bcl | bass clarinet |
bfl | bass flute |
bob | bass oboe |
bsax | bass saxophone |
bsn | bassoon |
cbsn | contrabassoon |
cl | clarinet |
ehn | English horn |
fl | flute |
hn | French horn |
ob | oboe |
pic | piccolo |
rec | recorder |
sax | saxophone |
srec | soprano recorder |
ssax | soprano saxophone |
trec | tenor recorder |
tsax | tenor saxophone |
Brass | |
ahn | alto horn |
atrb | altotrombone |
barhn | baritone horn |
btrb | bass trombone |
cornet | cornet |
euph | euphonium |
fhn | flugelhorn |
hn | French horn |
tba | tuuba |
thn | tenor horn |
trb | trombone |
trp | trumpet |
Percussion | |
dr | drums |
glock | glockenspiel |
mar | marimba |
perc | percussion |
timp | timpani |
vibr | vibraphone |
xyl | xylophone |
Strings | |
db | double bass |
gamba | viola da gamba |
str | strings |
vla | viola |
vlc | cello |
vln | violin |
Other | |
acc | accordion |
cel | celesta |
cemb | harpsichord |
chords | chords |
elbas | electric bass |
elg | electric guitar |
elorg | electric organ |
elpno | electric piano |
guit | guitar |
harm | harmonium |
hca | harmonica |
hp | harp |
instr | instrument |
kantele | kantele |
keyb | keyboard |
live electr | live electronics |
mand | mandolin |
mel | melody |
org | organ |
pno | piano |
synth | synthesizer |
tape | tape |
Vocal | |
alto | alto |
baryt | baritone |
basso | bass voice |
ch | choir |
chc | childrens choir |
chf | female choir |
chm | male choir |
chx | mixed choir |
cten | countertenor |
mezzo | mezzo-soprano |
sopr | soprano |
speaker | speaker |
ten | tenor |
voc | vocal |
Coding for instrument ensembles and orchestras
Symphony orchestra | |
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings |
Wind band | |
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists |
Big band | |
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums |
Additional codes | |
+ | fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo |
/ | pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ |
lib | ad libitum |
obl | obligato |
str | str: 65432 = specified number of string players |
str min | str min: 65432 = at least 65432 |
str max | str max: 65432 = not more than 65432 |
solo | vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin |
Category Works for Solo Instrument
Premiere
Olli Hautala, Helsinki, 1989.
+ Add information