Gabriel Tetzel (1999-2000)
for Tenor and Six Instruments
Tenor, Flute, Oboe (or Soprano Saxophone), Clarinet, Viola, Cello, Piano
Duration: 5 minutes
Program Note
In 1465 Leo of Rozmital set off with a great entourage on a journey through Europe to "visit all
Christian kingdoms, also all principlaities in Germany and foreign countries, ecclesiastical and
lay, and above all to visit the Holy Sepulchre and the beloved Saint James." Rozmital's main goal
however, seems to have been to gain support for his recently excommunicated brother-in-law,
the King of Bohemia. Among his retinue were two chroniclers: a Czech polyglot known only as Schasek,
and a wealthy landowner from Nuremburg, Gabriel Tetzel. Throughout their journey the group was
plagued by numerous troubles, among them bandits and disease, until they finally arrived at, and
at first were denied entry to, the cathedral at Compostela in Northwestern Spain. Little is known
of Tetzel othar than his position and what appears to have been a benign temperment. Upon their
return to Bohemia, Rozmital awarded Tetzel two horses and a sum of money.
In the spring of 1996, I was able to retrace a portion of their route, one thousand miles on foot
across France and Spain. In retrospect, I could see that while landscapes and cultures changed
slowly from the mountains of the Auvergne to the Basque region and weeks later the flat plains
of the meseta, overall the change was profound. On the journey, I conceived of an imaginary
songbook, the Cancionero Anónimo, from which any number of works could be discovered.
This piece imagines an aging Tetzel, moving between memory and reality. Along the way his landscape
changes, his mind opens to more possibilities and his rhythm slows with the coming of night. Musically
this is accomplished by six note harmonic-tonal clouds that shift one note at a time to become,
at the end of the piece, a completely different set, all of which are derivations of the initial
six note set; a musical pilgrimage of a sort. The rhythm of the piece follows essentially the same
procedure. Tetzel's song is not meant to be dramatic, nor to indulge in a post-modern quasi-medieviality,
but simply to reflect on the internal motions of a man.
Tetzel is a part of the ongoing collection 'Cancionero Anonimo', a loose grouping of fragments,
sketches, studies, and completed works that together document a life
Premiere:
Ensemble
Orlando Cela, conductor
Stephen Beaudoin, tenor
18 April 2000
Jordan Hall
Boston, Massachusetts
Listen
Performance by CC Ensemble, Matthew Cody, conductor; Alex Richardson, tenor
Score
Score Sample
Score in Preparation
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