Claude Vivier (1948-83) - Shiraz

Psappha Ensemble

Shiraz

Along with Stockhausen, what most influenced Vivier as a musician was the journey he made in 1976 across Asia, and in particular his visits to Japan, Bali and the ancient Iranian city of Shiraz, all of which he directly recalled in subsequent works. On Bali he had been exceedingly impressed by what he called 'interlocking'. One pattern (note-rest-note-rest-note-rest) is played simultaneously with its displacement (rest-note-rest-note-rest-note), and so the result is a regular rhythm (note-note-note-note-note-note). This duly happens in Shiraz, which in its often Messiaenesque harmonies, its virtuoso speed and its fracturedness suggests a facetted jewel. Vivier described Shiraz, which he visited on his way back from Bali, as 'a pearl of a city, a roughly cut diamond', and he included in the dedication of the piece 'two blind singers I followed for many hours in the market place' there. A sense of wonder at great architecture and exotic life is thus fused with a sympathy for the underdog that was among Vivier's strongest human features.

© Paul Griffiths 2008