Songs of innocence, lust and sorrow (2011) for two bass viols was commissioned by Markku Luolajan-Mikkola and was premiered at Vantaa BRQ festival on 15 August 2011.
The programmme note by the composer describes Songs of innocence, lust and sorrow as follows:
“In the search for an idiomatic use of the viol, the great masters of the 17th and 18th centuries give the composer all the answers he/she needs: the viol is about sophistication, tone colours and temperament. But composing such music without falling into the traps of sentimentality, pastiche or anachronism was not an easy task. The modest result of my pondering resulted in the bass viol duo Songs of innocence, lust and sorrow.
The compositional process of the piece was a rather unusual one, starting with the purchase of a seven-string bass viol and then learning to play it tolerably well. Eventually, the viol actually ended up being the only instrument that was used during the course of composing – a feature that hopefully adds some extra value to the piece in the terms of its idiomat and musicality.
Structurally the work is divided into three sections. The overture-like opening continues attaccalong and melancholic Lamento that eventually leads to acoda, where immaterial and transparent natural harmonics bring the piece to an end.”
Instrumentation
for two seven-stringed bass viols (2011)
arrangement for seven-stringed and six-stringed bass viols (2012)
arrangement for two barytons (2012)
Press quotes
“Virtaperko leaves nothing half done. The piece is atmospheric and well written”.
– Mats Liljeroos, Hufvudstadsbladet 16 August 2011
