Untitled (Black & Blood Orange) – single

Untitled (Black & Blood Orange) now available on all major platforms!

Untitled (Black & Blood Orange) is inspired and based on Pei-Shen Qian’s painting in the style of Mark Rothko. About the piece (original composer’s notes):

What is art? When does art become art and when does it stop? Does art become art only when someone tells us that it is so, and not before?

We live in a society where the price tag, the reputation of a ‘highly renowned’ gallery, and so-called ‘art experts’ tell us what is true art and what is not.  In turn, they are telling us what we should like and what we shouldn’t. But that’s not all. Under special circumstances, the same art experts may find something 'beautiful’, 'one of a kind’, 'brilliant’ and worth millions of dollars one day – and the next day completely worthless and unworthy of attention.

Genesis

Untitled (Black and Blood Orange) is inspired and based on Pei-Shen Qian’s painting in the style of Mark Rothko. The title is mine and is inspired by the original titles which Rothko would give to his own paintings.

When I first saw this painting, I knew it was not Rothko’s original painting. I knew that it was not a literal copy of an already created painting, but Pei-Shen Qian’s inspiration from the technique, language and visual world that Rothko created, that later on Pei-Shen studied for many years and at the end perfected.

For me, this painting was simply beautiful and extremely inspiring. Proportions, space, abstraction, tone, climate, colours, dynamics, inconspicuousness, warmth, atmosphere… In literally the same moment I saw the painting, a very clear vision of presenting the painting through music came to me. This happens extremely rarely. It’s not simply inspiration (as even that comes rarely) but more like a revelation, certainty.

Post-Impressionism vs Contemporary Art

Everyone’s perception is different. Especially when it comes to art. And even more so when it comes to contemporary art. For me, Pei-Shen Qian’s painting in the style of Mark Rothko speaks more in the hues and style of impressionism than in the rather (very often, but not always) cold, industrial style of contemporary art.

Above all, this Image is warm to me. The main background in desert warm yellow, with warm (even hot) blood orange and warm black (which permeates the purple background) is for me extremely impressionistic, friendly, and therefore tonal. Refined harmonically, but still tonal. Not abstract, not atonal. Therefore, the first element that I 'heard’ in this composition was the atmosphere and harmonic language of post-impressionism.

Tuning &Polytonality

The picture, its structure and atmosphere, as well as the elements it contains, directly correspond with the music. Since the painting itself is abstract, I knew I had to break with the typical sound, idiom of the classical guitar and find a completely different sound world. Hence, I used a very unusual tuning that I’ve never worked with or written in (4th string down to c sharp). But that’s not all…

In the picture, two almost symmetrical elements can be directly distinguished – two squares. One in a shade of black (top) and the other in a shade of blood orange (bottom). It also had a very tangible effect on my choice of tuning that I mentioned before. The black square represents the first three strings: minor chord (e min), while the blood orange square represents the three bass strings: major chord (A maj). This polytonality (polyharmony) relationship also occurs throughout the entire work (hence my decision to score using two staves).

The arpeggio

So far timbre (colour) has been used as a reference to tonality. Tuning (but also vertical chord blocks / harmony) has been used to refer to the two main squares from the painting. The last visual and undoubtedly important element of the picture are the square’s edges (lines). The boundaries between the background and the 'main characters of the picture’: the two squares. The boundaries (these lines) are very irregular, jagged and dynamic. That is why I decided to present them in the form of an arpeggio in a very irregular time signature. Single notes in the form of arpeggios overlap to create harmonies and chords. A very torn, irregular meter brings energy and vibrance to the piece.

My intention to some extent was to create a bridge between the two fine arts – visual and musical. For me it is definitely a representation, an extension, of visual art in music. Those two fine arts which complement each other, in this very case: literally one was created from the other.

I hope this composition will inspire potential performers and listeners. I will show the element of harmony in music as a world of shades and colours. This piece was commissioned by and is dedicated to great physicist, guitar-fan and friend of mine – Tomasz Polak.

Marek Pasieczny
Leeds, The UK (January 1th 2022)

USA: Austin Classical Guitar’s 2022-23 Artist-in-Residence

I’m truly excited to officially announce my residency for Austin Classical Guitar’s 2022-23 Artist-in-Residence (Austin, Texas, USA).


I will be composing, performing and collaborating with fantastic musicians, conductors and students over several months. Soloists include the fantastic Bion Tsang (cello) and Thomas Burritt (percussion) and I’ll be working closely with Joe Williams , ACG’s Artistic Director who will be conducting a giant orchestra of over 70 guitarists from Texas, and Travis Marcum, ACG’s Education Director!

1st Prize in Portugal International Guitar Composition Competition

I am very pleased to announce that my piece (szopen) re:membering won the 1st prize in 2nd Portugal International Guitar Composition Competition / Seixal 2022 with Maestro Leo Brouwer as chairman.


I would like to thank Maestro Brouwer and all the honorable jury. Congratulations to all other composers from 32 different countries taking part in this competition. Thank you.

Marek Pasieczny / Leo Brouwer | Portugal International Guitar Composition Competition / Seixal 2022

OST / Recording for the upcoming film

Recording for the upcoming film: ’The Wound Is Where The Light Enters’ (Uganda, ’21-’ 22) by Vardo Films, London, UK.

It’s a composition entitled 'Thula Baba, Thula Sana’ (from book ’Travels’ ) which has been composed in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pasieczny: Recording for the upcoming film: 'The Wound Is Where The Light Enters’

SUSURRUS I (for Lute & Guitar) – score

SUSURRUS I (for 13-course baroque lute and guitar) by Marek PASIECZNY

Edition Type: Full Score + parts: 13-course baroque lute, guitar & composer’s program notes | Publishers: SLE London | Catalogue Number: SLE073 | Date Published: 2 August 2022

get your copy now contacting us directly writing ✉️: slepayment@gmail.com

SUSURRUS I is OUT NOW!

Susurrus I for 13-course Lute and Guitar is OUT NOW!

SUSURRUS I

Cantus Planus | Incantatio et Psalmus | Canticulum (2021)

The title – Susurrus (Lat.: susurrare), meaning a whispering, murmuring, or rustling sound – depicts the gentleness and humbleness of the compositional materials used to establish the three movements of this piece.

The first sketches were created without any specific instrumentation in mind. I started on the piano and wrote in polyphony (single voicing and multi-voicing techniques). The melody is meant to flow and intertwine with other voices, horizontally, not vertically.

I was largely inspired by my study of chants, psalms and Gregorian hymns. The purity, modesty, asceticism, and minimalism conveyed were a complete detachment from contemporary music. The greatest attention was given to the smallest change of interval, and there was a complexity within its simplicity that fascinated me.

It was, however, not my intention to copy the past. I wanted only to draw on the consolidation of the atmosphere, asceticism and extremely careful consonance of successive intervals, single voices and their layering. Furthermore, I did not wish to use any original chants, psalms or hymns. Instead, I wanted to create every interval, every melody, and every co-interaction from scratch.

Cantus Planus

Cantus Planus (plainchant) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive form of Christian church music until the ninth century, and the introduction of polyphony.

The monophonic chants of plainsong have a non-metric rhythm. Their rhythms are generally freer than the metered rhythm of later Western music, and they are sung without musical accompaniment (pure monody vs multi-layered monody). This inspired my decision to organize the time using an uneven but organic time signature.

I incorporated the essence of purity and asceticism through a very conscious choice of scales. The Chant in this movement is built on the aeolian pentatonic scale (A C D E F), which is a natural minor scale consisting only of 5 pure natural notes.

Incantatio et Psalmus

Incantatio et Psalmus is the supine form of incantō (“sing, recite, enchant”) integrated with psalm (a sacred song; a poetical composition for use in the praise or worship of God). Continuing with the depiction of purity, the second movement is built on the aeolian mode in its entirety.

Canticulum

Canticulum (song or incantation)  is a hymn, psalm or other Christian song of praise with lyrics taken from biblical or holy texts other than the Psalms.

The third movement breaks free from the dominance of one (Aeolian) scale. The main theme of Canticulum appears not only in different tonal forms in the same key, but modulates through a variety of different keys and tonics. The form of polyphony is mainly shaped by a dependence on the interval of a 3rd.

Number ‘3’:

The number 3 is of particular importance in Susurrus. It is one of the most important numbers in the Bible. It represents harmony, The Holy Trinity and God’s presence. In Susurrus, the number 3 is represented not only in the number of movements, but also in the interval of thirds, which shapes the monodic but also polyphonic compositional narrative of the whole three movements.

Instrumentation:

Susurrus can be orchestrated and adapted for many smaller or larger chamber ensembles. This is one possible version of the piece.

As its very first version, the combination of 2 instruments born more than 200 years apart (classical guitar and 13-course baroque lute) seemed extremely appropriate to the genesis of Susurrus.

I hope Susurrus will find many performances in new and unusual pairs of instruments or larger ensembles (across contemporary as well as historical instruments).

Marek PASIECZNY (17th of July, 2021)

New Video! PŌKAREKARE ANA

Newly recorded PŌKAREKARE ANA for Solo Guitar is now on YouTube. Based on famous Māori melody, originally written for my first concert tour in New Zealand.

world premieres at 57th Wieniawski International Music Festival

unforgettable memories from an evening concert at 57th Wieniawski International Music Festival w/ brilliant Krzysztof Pełech during which we gave world premieres of brand new transcriptions of Wieniawski’s pieces and performed extreme variety of music solo and duo!

Krzysztof Pełech & Marek Pasieczny | for. Anita Wojcinowicz
Krzysztof Pełech & Marek Pasieczny | for. Krzysztof Sai

organised by Ośrodek Kultury i Sztuki we Wrocławiu (OKiS) & Festiwal im. H. Wieniawskiego w Szczawnie-Zdroju.

Poland / Summer ’22

CZERWIEC:
5ty – solo i duo razem z Prof. Piotr ROJEK (organ)
16:00 | Kościół Parafialny pw. Wniebowzięcia NMP, Kamieniec Ząbkowicki (II Festiwal Muzyczny im. Marianny Opańskiej) m.in. PRAWYKONANIE: SUSURRUS III (na organy solo)

18ty – duo z/ Krzysztof PEŁECH
19:00 | Teatr Zdrojowy, Szczawno-Zdrój 57th Wieniawski International Music Festival
m.in. PRAWYKONANIE: Henryk Wieniawski, cztery kompozycje na dwie gitary

LIPIEC:

15sty – duo z/ Krzysztof PEŁECH
19:00 | Trzebiatów, Trzebiatowski Ośrodek Kultury

17sty– duo z/ Krzysztof PEŁECH
16:00 | Kośćiół Św. Pawła i Piotra, Namysłów (XXIII Letnie Koncerty Organowe)

17sty – 24ty warsztaty kompozycji i gitarowe: Summer Guitar Festival | Krzyżowa ZAPISY

SIERPIEŃ:
24ty – 30ty warsztaty gitarowe: Mistrz i Uczeń | Krzeszowice ZAPISY

Seven Jazz Pieces – score order

SEVEN JAZZ PIECES SCORE PASIECZNY

SEVEN JAZZ PIECES | for Guitar Solo | by Marek PASIECZNY

▪️ African Sketch ▪️ (The Other) Milonga ▪️ For Sylvia (Jazz Waltz ▪️ Tom’s Blues ▪️ (Afro) Samba ▪️ Lyle’s Maze ▪️ Until Then (Jazz Ballad)

Edition Type: Full Score | Publishers: SLE London | Catalogue Number: SLE071 | Pages: 20 | Date Published: April 2022

ORDER YOUR COPY NOW  contacting us directly 📧 via: slepayment@gmail.com

SEVEN JAZZ PIECES MAREK PASIECZNY score 3 SEVEN JAZZ PIECES MAREK PASIECZNY score

Untitled-1

WIENIAWSKI for Two Guitars!

I’m happy to announce new project: I’m going to transcribe and arrange set of pieces by Polish violin virtuoso and composer Henryk WIENIAWSKI for two guitars!

The première will take place in June during the ’57th Wieniawski International Music Festival’ in Teatr Zdrojowy im. Henryka Wieniawskiego w Szczawnie-Zdroju. I’ll première them w/ amazing guitarist and Polish guitar legend: Krzysztof Pełech

The project is commissioned by Ośrodek Kultury i Sztuki we Wrocławiu (OKiS)

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SUSURRUS (score)

SUSURRUS SCORE PASIECZNY

SUSURRUS (for Two Guitars) by Marek PASIECZNY

Cantus Planus | Incantatio et Psalmus | Canticulum (video)

Edition Type: Full Score + I guitar and II guitar (parts) | Publishers: SLE London
Catalogue Number: SLE073 | Pages: 23 | Date Published: 28 Oct 2021

get your copy now contacting us directly writing via:   slepayment@gmail.com

 

 

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