Una Notte Sacra for Solo Bass Flute (2015)

From the Publisher

Una Notte Sacra (Italian for "A Sacred Night") for bass flute or contrabass flute is loosely based upon my previous composition, White Night for solo viola, which, in turn, is a transcription of the final piece of my cycle Who is like God?: A Cycle of Four Works For Violoncello. All three compositions comprise originally composed melodies reminiscent of Jewish music of the Eastern European ("Ashkenazi") tradition. These melodies were directly inspired by various transcendent states of ecstasy I experienced during the many "White Nights" (Beliye Nochi) I spent on the rivers and canals of Saint Petersburg, Russia during my sojourn there in June 2006. (The nature of the "White Nights" can be explained by the geographical location of Saint Petersburg, which is located at 59 degrees 57' north. Due to such high latitude the sun does not appear to sink below the horizon deep enough for any darkness to occur.) It was while surrendering to one these mystical states - brought on, largely, by the sublime beauty of Saint-Petersburg enshrined, like a precious jewel, in the white summer night - that the melody of White Night came to me. It was at that point that I felt closest to God.

Una Notte Sacra is dedicated to Vilma Campitelli, Alice Bennett and Iwona Glinka. The contrabass flute version of the work is dedicated to Roberto Fabbriciani. Solo score: 2 pages, single sheet.

Performance duration (approx): 3'

Item Details

Instrumentation

• Part 1: Bass Flute